A Sandy Sodapop
by GabrielleTheGreaserGirl
Summary: After the trial, Ponyboy, Johnny and Dally are all healthy... but what about Sodapop? Is he sick? Or is it something else? Also, the members of the gang struggle with their own troubles. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! THE OUTSIDERS IS PROPERTY OF S.E. HINTON! Please Review, Favorite, and/or Follow if you read. THE STORY IS FINALLY FINISHED! :)
1. Chapter 1

A Sandy Sodapop

Based on the request from Emolichic1

Ponyboy's POV:

A few weeks after the trial everything was looking up. Johnny was in a wheelchair. The doctor said that possibly with some physical therapy he could be on his feet, but no one was ready to set their standards that high.

Dally had his arm wrapped up along with a small section around his chest. He was gonna have a few scars, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Cherry and I were getting along fine behind closed doors. We'd talk to each other after school when no one was looking and she had a pretty nice bond with the rest of the gang too.

Steve and Two-Bit were their same old selves, they didn't change much anyway. Sodapop, Darry and I were getting along fine. Sodapop was still a little glum over Sandy, I could tell, but he wouldn't let anyone know that.

I was on the couch next to Johnny. We were harpin' on Two-Bit for watching too many Mickey Mouse Marathons. He tossed a pillow at us, but didn't mean any harm. We were laughing our heads off even when Cherry came walking in the door.

"Hey guys," She sat next to me on the couch. She looked nice, like she was dressed up to go somewhere.

"Are you going out with someone tonight Cherry?" She smiled realizing how tense I had gotten at the thought of her going out with another goon like Bob.

"No Ponyboy, I'm going to my cousin's wedding out of town. I figured I'd stop by to let you guys know so you didn't think I took the next flight out of here without saying goodbye." I sighed eternally. That was a relief.

I saw Sodapop sitting at the kitchen table. After she mentioned where she was heading he put his head in his hands and made a quiet groaning sound. It was to himself, and only Johnny and I noticed it. I looked over at Johnny and he was the one to speak up first.

"You okay Soda?" He asked across the room. Sodapop's head shot up to look at Johnny. He wiped the tiredness from his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Yeah I'm fine" He got up and jogged to our room. _I'll integrate him for that tonight _was the only thought I needed to dismiss his episode from my mind.

Within about an hour Cherry left for the wedding. Johnny, Two-Bit and I said goodbye and that we'd miss her. I told her Sodapop would miss her too and she smiled jumping into her car toward the city.

Darry came home with Chinese take-out and Two-Bit left to eat dinner with his family. It was the right choice. Johnny stayed to eat with us. Darry started setting the table when he looked around the house confused.

"Ponyboy, where's your brother?"

"Oh, he's in our room I'll go get him," I ran up the stairs shouting for Soda and screaming about how Darry had brought home Chinese hoping he'd just pop out of our room. He didn't. When I got to the room I saw Sodapop asleep on the bed. I shook his shoulder and his eyes shot open.

"Oh, hey Pony," he looked really out of it. I looked him up and down trying to figure out why he looked so… _off_.

"I was callin' you downstairs 'cause Darry got Chinese but if you're not feeling-"

"No I'm fine Pony, I just fell asleep, that's all" I nodded and we both rushed downstairs. We all started eating except for Sodapop who just pushed the food around his plate. He was real good at hiding the fact he wasn't eating. If I didn't devote every ounce of myself into seeing if his mouth opened, I might not have noticed.

"What were you doin' upstairs Soda?" Darry didn't even look up from his plate of food, but I did. Soda's head slowly pivoted up to look at Darry.

"I fell asleep,"

"You workin' too hard or somethin'? You outta tell Steve to pick up the slack" Darry joked. Soda made a noise that sounded more like 'tss' than a laugh but I guess Darry didn't notice. Just then the door shot open,

"Honey I'm Home!" Steve sang. We all smiled at his odd entrance. He came into the kitchen with Marcia wrapped in his left arm, "I picked this little doll up outside the DX. You like Soda?" One side of Soda's lip pulled up in an attempt at a smirk but it didn't fool me.

"You better watch out Steve," I cautioned, "Two-Bit was lookin' at her a while back,"

"Who doesn't Two-Bit look at?" he questioned, "If we based our girlfriends on everyone Two-Bit didn't look at, we'd have no one left. Plus, I don't need a little kid tellin' me my restrictions" He scoffed.

I just shook my head getting up from the table and bringing my plate over to the sink so I could wash it. I knew better than to argue with Steve Randle. Darry and Johnny dumped their plates in too. I didn't mind washing their plates, but when Sodapop came to empty every bit of food on his plate into the disposal I glared at him.

"Don't you dare do that Sodapop" I hissed. I didn't want to get him into trouble with Darry, but I wanted him to eat something.

"Ponyboy I ain't hungry" he whispered pleading. Nope! I wasn't going to let his smooth talk get him out of this one.

"You have to eat Soda. Are you sick or something?" I knew I sounded like the concerned mother of the situation but I really wanted to get to the bottom of his mystery.

"No. I'm just tired. I'm not in the mood for food" I grabbed his dish out of his hand as roughly as I could. _Darn it! How'd he always do that? _I emptied all the food, that was supposed to be in Soda's stomach, into the disposal. After washing dishes, I decided to go out for a walk when I saw Johnny wheeling after me.

"Hey Ponyboy! Wait up!" I stopped and waited for him to catch up so we could walk/roll together, "I had something to ask you" I nodded waiting for him to continue, "How are you going to get Soda to eat something?" My head shot up and I stared at Johnny.

"You noticed that too?"

"Obviously, I ain't clueless Ponyboy" I just stared ahead. I didn't have a good answer for his question.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna let him sleep it off. If he isn't hungry in the morning I have to bring Darry into the situation" Johnny nodded. He knew I'd have under control for the most part. I took him back to the house where he had been staying the night for a while. We weren't going to let him go home to his crazy family when he was vulnerable in a wheelchair.

That night I heard Sodapop stir. He got up to use the bathroom and I rolled over to look at his side of the bed. His pillow was soaked with… _water_? _Had he been crying?_ When he came back into the room sniffling I shut my eyes tight and didn't move. I wasn't ready to let him know how much of him I observed, just yet.

**Starting my 3rd Fanfiction! Read, Follow, and/or Review. New Chapter(s) EVERYDAY!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Ponyboy's POV:

In the morning Sodapop seemed slightly better. He woke up and acted happy, but that was just the thing, I couldn't tell if he was _acting. _I looked him over as he got ready for work.

"What's so interesting about me getting ready for work?" He joked looking himself over to see if I had caught him doing something wrong.

"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You didn't eat much last night" He frowned and I worried I had killed his 'good mood'.

"Don't worry about me Ponyboy I'm fine" He smiled at me on his way out of the bedroom. I secretly followed him while getting a good view of him entering the kitchen. I saw him grab a granola bar on the way out and that seemed like a sign things were taking a turn for the better. I started getting ready for school putting on a t-shirt and jeans.

I ate my breakfast alone while waiting for Two-Bit to pick me up for school. I went to throw my plastic bowl away when I spotted an unopened granola bar in the trash. _Damn it! He knew I followed him out of our room! _That boy could certainly put on a show. I slammed my hand on the countertop when I heard Two-Bit come in.

"Come on Ponyboy, that counter ain't done nothin' to you" Johnny wheeled in shortly after, looking at me curiously. He was the only other one that had noticed Soda the day before, and I assumed he was putting the pieces together. Johnny wheeled right next to me on the way to Two-Bit's car and asked the question I had been waiting for him to ask all morning,

"It was Soda… wasn't it?" I nodded and he sighed next to me, "Did ya tell Dare yet?" I shook my head.

"Nah, I thought he was bringing a snack to work but turns out he threw it away when I wasn't lookin'," I looked at me feet instead of making eye contact with Johnny, "I don't know what to do…" I helped Johnny into the car and sat in the back with him instead of taking passenger with Two-Bit.

"Wow Pony, I'm offended" he joked, "I thought you liked me" I just buckled my seatbelt and pretended I thought that was funny with a fake laugh that actually sounded kind of convincing. It was probably because I knew nothing else was going to be funny that day anyway, I might as well take an opportunity to laugh when I can.

Like I had thought, the whole school day was a waste of time. It wasn't like I learned anything anyway. I was too busy worrying about Sodapop. Then in my last period the teacher approached me.

"Ponyboy, I just got a call from the office. Your brother Darrell is here to pick you up" I froze. darry never left work early. I knew exactly where this was going.

When I got to the office Darry took me by the arm handing the lady at the front desk a paper indicating I was signed out. We got in the car and he floored it without saying a word.

"Darry what's this about?" He looked at me in the car mirror,

"Steve called me at work. It's Sodapop, he passed out at work. We're going home."

**Sorry this is so short/late. I had an unusually busy day. This will most likely never happen again. Expect more in the next few chapters. Thanks for the great reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Steve's POV:

Sodapop didn't look to good all day. He was pale. He looked kinda sickly. He was constantly moping around the DX like a zombie. After our afternoon rush was over, he just sat at the front desk and started to rub his eyes. I needed to ask him what was up.

"Hey Soda, everything alright?" He looked up at me and nodded then set his head down on the countertop with his arms crossed in front of it, "Soda, it's lunch break, do you wanna go get something?" He just shook his head without bringing it up from the counter.

"I ain't hungry" That confused me.

"Sodapop you haven't eaten anything during lunch break for the past few days… you oughta be hungry." He just shook his head the same way he did last time. THAT WAS ENOUGH!

"Sodapop Curtis! I asked you if you were okay, I offered you food, and I just KNOW you're lying to me with every answer!" He lifted his head from the table and looked at me. He knew I was serious. I could read him like a book.

"Fine Steve, I'll go to get food with you" He approached me, coming around the counter and then he collapsed on the floor. I couldn't call 911, _that would get Darry in trouble for sure_! Darry! I ran to the phone and dialed his work number. It rang a few times but then he picked up.

"Hello this is Darrell Curtis"

"Darry, it's Steve. I'm calling about Soda. He wouldn't eat, and when I asked him to come get food with me he… well… he just fainted"

"Is he okay now?" His voice was urgent. I hadn't thought about that. I turned around and saw him in the sitting position on the floor rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, he's awake, but I think you should come and get him. He's not in any position to do good work right now anyway." I heard Darry talking to his boss in the background. I hated to make Darry leave work early when his family relied so heavily on his job, but this was about Soda, and he wasn't looking good at all.

"Alright I'm on my way. Thanks for the call Steve"

"Sure" I hung up and ran over to Soda, helping him off the floor.

"Steve?" I nodded, "What happened?"

"You fainted, but everythings fine. Darry's gonna come and get you in a little bit" I saw that he wanted to protest but he knew that whatever little strength he had left was not going to be used on arguing.

About 15-20 minutes later the door flew open with Darry and Ponyboy barging into the room. The kid stayed at the door while Darry came rushing over to Sodapop.

"Hey, you okay little buddy?" Soda nodded, believe it or not, he looked slightly better since he had fainted, "Let's take you home alright Pepsi?" Soda got up and Darry supported most of his weight out the door to their car. Ponyboy just followed a few feet behind. I knew he had some sort of 'special bond' with his brother so I just let it go. The whole situation probably made him uncomfortable_. _But for some reason that kid looked guilty and I couldn't put my finger on why. I continued to watch them until they drove out of sight.

**Thanks to all the new Reviewers, Followers, and Favoriters! Only three chapters and you are already so enthusiastic! Great! I can't wait to write more for you guys! Have fun reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Ponyboy's POV:

I felt so guilty. I should've made Sodapop eat the food or at least checked to make sure he left with the granola bar. Now, we were on our way home because he had fainted. I sighed as we pulled up to the house. This was all my fault.

Darry carried Soda inside disregarding the fact that Soda did everything in his power to get Darry to put him down. Darry just set Soda on the couch peacefully. Darry took a seat in the chair next to him.

"Soda, what happened?" Soda just closed his eyes, _anyone_ could tell that this was extremely awkward for him and that he didn't want to answer. "Well?... Soda, you gotta tell us so we can help you" Soda's eyes opened and they looked angry.

"I don't need your help. I just fainted alright?" Darry beat Sodapop at the 'angry glare contest' immediately after Soda spoke.

"People don't just 'faint' Soda! Something happens and their body shuts down. So what happened to you?" Soda and I made eye contact and I looked away as fast as I could. I didn't want to tell Darry because I knew Sodapop didn't want me to, but I wanted to tell Darry because I knew it was the right thing to do. I just stayed frozen and silent. We sat there in silence for a good 5 minutes until the door shot open.

"ALRIGHT WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM KID?!" I heard Steve shouting from behind me. I turned around to face him, he was breathing like he just won a marathon. His face was all sweaty and filled with anger. I must've looked confused because he took my silence as an opportunity to explain himself, "I _saw _you walking out with Darry lookin' all guilty. So what do you know that the rest of us don't?" I swallowed.

"Steve don't yell at him!" Soda tried to get a hold of him but Steve was just too angry.

"I don't know what you mean Steve" was the only way I could respond. I didn't want to rat out Soda. I couldn't. Darry turned me around so I was looking him right in the eye.

"Oh my God I think you're right," he spoke to Steve, "Ponyboy? What do you know?"

"Nothing"

"LIAR!"

"Shut up Steve!" I hated when he accused me of things… even if they were true.

"I ain't gonna listen to you horseyboy! My best friend half-died in front of my face today and you know why and aren't talking! You expect me to _shut up_ over that?!" He was insane. I suddenly wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else but there. Then Johnny and Dally came through the door. Dally was the first to comment on the situation.

"What the hell are you doing Steve?" Dally looked him up and down as Steve's body shook with anger.

"Trying to get the truth out of this son of a-"

"Woah!" Dally interjected "What is all this about" Darry stood up walking Steve and Dally into the kitchen to talk. No doubt they were gonna come up with a plan to interrogate me, but that just wasn't on my agenda.

"Johnny we gotta go… Now!" Johnny nodded knowing better than to ask about the situation.

"Ponyboy wait!" Sodapop pleaded from the couch. I stopped right before I left with Johnny. Soda looked sick, I couldn't look at him knowing I was the reason. I decided to look at my feet instead, "Why are you leaving?"

"Soda this is all my fault. I'm not gonna sit here and rat you out. If you wanna confess then confess. If you don't, don't. I can't be here right now"

"How the hell is this _your_ fault?" Soda looked hurt. Darry, Dally and Steve all stood at the entrance to the room. I had no idea how long they had been there but I didn't care anymore. They were all gonna hear the truth they deserved.

"I let you throw away your food yesterday and I let you leave without having a snack for work today. I'm not even sure how long it's been since your last meal," everyone looked away realizing how much all of us had missed, "The point is, all these times should've been reminders for me to step in. But I didn't… and I'm sorry" I began to open the door when I felt someone grab my wrist. It was Dally, the only person who's grip I wouldn't dream of trying to fight my way out of.

"Dally please let go," I whispered. I wasn't sure, but if I spoke any louder, I thought I might break into tears.

"Don't hold your breath kiddo" Dally closed the door and sat me next to Sodapop, "Not tellin' anyone about this was stupid, but you better not believe running outside without a jacket and getting sick would do anyone any better. You better wise up kid." I bowed my head and stared at the floor, refusing to let my head raise any higher.

Dally picked Steve as his next victim tugging him outside. As he was on his way out the door he looked at me, "Work it out with your brothers and I'll make sure this one gets it for hollering at you, you hear me?" I nodded. He closed the door and I heard him yelling at Steve outside as Johnny wheeled after them, "What the hell were you thinking yelling at the kid like that. Are you dumb or are you stupid?" Normally that woulda made my day, but it hurt because Steve was right to be angry. I screwed up bad.

"Ponyboy?" I knew _that_ voice even without looking up.

"Yeah Soda,"

"It ain't your fault" I wanted to smack something. OF COURSE IT WAS!

"Yeah Pony," Darry added, "we all shoulda noticed Soda wasn't eating" I surrendered. Darry was right. But I still felt bad.

"I shouldn't have let you get away with all that stuff though" Darry put two fingers under my chin lifting my face so it was at his eye level.

"Let it go Ponyboy" then he dropped his fingers and I gathered enough strength to look over at Soda who was staring at me with such a sadness that I whipped my head away.

"As for you," Darry turned to Sodapop, "What has been going on?"

"Nothing."

"Are you depressed or something?"

"NO!"

"what about last night…?" I spoke so quietly that I barely heard myself.

"What did you say Ponyboy?" Darry glanced back at me.

"I said, 'what about last night?'" I looked at Sodapop, my eyes burning into his.

"What about it?" He looked confused. Last night was the only thing I knew about that no one else did.

"Last night at about 3 am?" Soda went white. Darry noticed.

"What happened last night Soda?" Darry urgently pleaded. Sodapop didn't give an answer so Darry turned to me. He hungered to be let in on what we were talking about.

"Darry, could you leave us alone for a minute?" He looked stunned. I didn't expect him to be so surprised, but he was.

"Sure… but only a few minutes"

"That's all I need" Darry left. I turned back to Soda. He looked like a punched puppy.

"I know you didn't know I saw it last night, but I _tend_ to notice when my brother's crying" He looked away from me making sure he could avoid eye contact as much as possible.

"Guess I just kinda miss Sandy ya know? I loved her Pony. I loved her almost as much as I love you and Darry and for her to just leave-" He choked, bringing his knees to his chin like a little kid hiding, "When I heard Cherry going to a wedding and Steve was hanging with Marcia… they are all just constant reminders about her that I don't want!" He started crying and I knew when Darry came in that he had heard the whole thing. Anyone could have heard it. It was like the world went silent to listen to Sodapop Curtis.

"It'll be alright Soda," I promised, "Its gotta be"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Sodapop's POV:

After the conversation with Ponyboy and Darry I had to devote my life to becoming a good actor. I hadn't realized how observant Ponyboy was, and that scared me. The reason why I wasn't eating was because nothing seemed to have a point, taste or flavor. I didn't have a motive for anything anymore.

Every food looked unappetizing.

Every drink looked nasty.

Every activity looked pointless.

I couldn't even watch one of those weird chick-flick beach movies with Ponyboy. The sand reminded me too much of... _her_. I just wanted to cry every minute of the day. But I had to eat. I had to drink. I had to get out of bed in the morning. Darry told me I was going to slowly kill myself by not eating and drinking so I'd snack and drink mostly water.

Ponyboy came into our room looking for his textbook a few days after I had passed out. I was staring into space. A new found hobby of mine. It seemed to release me from reality… for a little bit. Then I was talking before I even ran it by myself.

"Ponyboy, do you have a lot of friends at school?" Pony looked as confused as I was at my random question.

"Not really besides Two-Bit and Johnny… Why? He checked under the bed still searching for his book.

"You should go out with a few friends tonight."

"Why?" he scoffed smiling. He found my sudden curiosity amusing. I didn't get it.

"Because… you don't really leave anymore. You're always here with me all the time."

"I don't mind" He checked in the closet.

"Ponyboy," His head shot up to look at me, "I _want_ you to go out tonight"

"_O_-kay?" He found the book under a pile of dirty clothes, "I'll go out with Johnny to a movie or something..." He hesitated before he left. I shot out of the bed running over to the dirty clothes pile and collecting every piece of my clothing. I _needed_ to do the laundry.

**This will all make sense soon enough. I left you a little confused on purpose. Can't wait for the next chapter! And thanks for the awesome increase in reviews (4 - 8 in one chapter) WOW! Thanks for reading guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Darry's POV:

I got home after work that Saturday and immediately went into Soda and Pony's room. I always found myself checking if Sodapop was eating sense the day I picked him up from the DX. He was starting to act like Ponyboy when Johnny was in the hospital. Not _as_ bad, but close.

I opened the door and noticed how neat the room was. Someone _had_ to be in there, it looked like hours were spent cleaning it. I looked around, no one was in the room. I checked the bathroom. _It couldn't be that no one was home, could it? _

"Ponyboy? Sodapop?" I got nothing. Then I heard the door open and slam shut. I ran downstairs hoping to find one of my brothers in the doorway. I got Steve instead.

"Darry?! Darry?!" I almost collided with the little guy until I saw him running into the kitchen frantic.

"Steve… Steve, calm down. What's going on?" _What was it with this kid always being in some kind of big drama? _

"Darry… it's Sodapop. He left a note at my house" Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled, folded, creased, wrinkled, ugly looking post-it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

Dear Steve,

I know my handwriting is horrible but just get over it for now.

I'm writing to you because I couldn't bare to write this to Darry and Pony.

I've gone off to go find Sandy. I know, I know. It _sounds_ crazy but I promise this is for the best.

Tell Darry and Ponyboy I love 'em and I'll miss 'em

I'll miss you and the gang too.

Thanks for all the great times, I hope to be back again soon,

Sodapop Curtis

I just stood there shocked. I grabbed the wall for support. The kid might as well have not written at all. The note didn't say anything. _Where was he going? When did he plan on being back? What number should we call to stay in contact with him? . . . how to break all this to Ponyboy?_

I lifted my eyes off the note to look at Steve. He looked awful. He was probably asking himself the same questions I was. I grabbed his shoulder firmly causing him to lock eyes with me.

"We're gonna find him Steve. He'll be okay" Steve just nodded. I was trying to convince myself too, and I knew I was doing lousy for the both of us.

"I'm uh… I'm gonna go with Two-Bit… to the… to the bar" He blinked a few times and I grew a little worried for him leaving… and drinking.

" 'You gonna drive there?"

"No… I'll get, uh, Two-Bit to pick me up" I was okay with that. I nodded and ran upstairs. I had to look for clues in Pony's room for any sign of where the hell Soda was headed. The only thing that I found was a note on the counter addressed to me from Ponyboy:

Soda said I should go out tonight.

I guess I'll humor him and go see a movie with Johnny and Two-Bit.

Be home in a few

~Ponyboy


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Ponyboy's POV:

The movie was okay. Just as good as any other chick-flick beach movie. To be honest, I didn't really watch it, I was trying to figure out why Sodapop sent me out in the first place. The whole 'you don't go out anymore' speech just wasn't working for me. It felt _off_.

Two-Bit had left the movie early… something about picking up Steve to go drinking. Johnny came back to our house as usual. I opened the door and saw Darry immediately rise from his seat. He looked me in the eyes like he pitied me. I got nervous, I begin scanning the room for Sodapop… I came up with nothing.

"Why don't you come sit down Ponyboy?" I took my jacket off and placed it on the hanger. Johnny wheeled himself over next to the couch in an attempt to get me to follow him, I didn't exactly have a choice, so I did, "Look ...Ponyboy,"

"Is he hurt Dare?"

"...Who Pony?" He was such a bad actor. His voice was riddled with fake confusion.

"I know who this is about. I don't want small talk Darry I wanna know is he hurt or not?" Darry looked slightly stunned but he got over it quickly returning his face to its normal no-emotion cover up.

"I don't know Ponyboy… that's just it."

"HOW THE HELL DON'T YOU KNOW?!" I started to rise from the couch but Johnny put his hand on my shoulder settling me. I couldn't bare to move his fragile burn-wrapped hand, I surrendered and sat back down. Darry waited patiently for me to stable myself.

"He left a note with Steve. He's gone to look for Sandy. We have no idea where he is going or how to contact him. I'm so sorry Ponyboy I wish I had more information for you," I set my back against the couch and sunk into it.

There was the answer to what I had been wondering all night. Sodapop had wanted _me_ out of the house because _he_ wanted out more than anyone. I came close to crying. Close.

Then I remembered Two-Bit leaving the movie to pick up Steve… and Steve was the one who had known about it first...

"Steve's gonna hurt himself. Him and Two-Bit… they went out for drinks…"

"I know Pony, I know. I already told Two-Bit and I warned him to watch out for Steve," _that's one problem out of my way._ I sat forward closing my eyes and began to rub my temples. Now for the _real_ problem, there must've been some kind of clue to where Soda was going. Darry interrupted my thoughts, "Pony, do you wanna talk about him?"

"What's there to say?" Darry seemed to agree completely because he dropped the subject all together and asked me to help Johnny out of his chair so he could sleep on the couch. Normally Sodapop helped him with that, and it hurt to get the first feeling of everyday life without Soda.

What Sodapop didn't know was that he was doing the exact thing to the gang that Sandy did to him. But we had to be strong. We couldn't crumble, or we'd all end up just as lost as Soda. Then we'd have no one to find their way, and save him.

**Wow you are all so fast with the reviews. Seriously, thanks guys! I'm loving the passion you have for the story. I can't wait for you guys to see the next chapter. BIG TWIST COMING YOUR WAY hint hint. Keep reviewing and I'll keep posting 3!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Ponyboy's POV:

I tried to sleep but I was freezing. I knew it wasn't because of the temperature. The room could've been 100 degrees and I still would have felt cold. The usual arm that seemed to always be draped over my side, radiating heat, was no longer there. I had the whole bed to myself yet I felt like I had nothing. The bed was empty to me.

I woke up with my body lunging forward and my breathing unsteady and shallow. I saw Darry at the end of the bed with his hand on my right shoulder. He looked concerned.

"Ponyboy are you alright?" He wiped the sweaty hair from my forehead but to be honest, it didn't make a difference. I was sweating everywhere.

Then I made the connection

"Darry, I… I know where Soda's headed" If he wanted to, he could've had his eyes pop right out of his head.

"How?"

"I just remembered something" I ran out of bed stumbling over myself to get to the phone. Darry came running after me insisting I tell him what was going on. I didn't listen, I got to the phone and dialed the one number that mattered to me right then.

"Cherry?"

"Ponyboy?"

"Yeah, are you still out of town for your cousin's wedding?"

"Yeah. The weddings in three days. Honestly, when I gave you this number I didn't think you'd call-"

"Where are you?"

"Ponyboy you aren't coming-"

"I know but someone else might be, now where are you?"

"Seattle Washington, why? Ponyboy what's going on?"

"What's your cousin's name?"

"Ponyboy please explain yourself"

"I will after but I can't until I get all this info now who is your cousin?"

"Mark"

"And the bride?"

"Sandy, I don't know her last name, I haven't even met her yet. I already told your brother all of this, you can just ask him. _Now_ can you please explain?" I froze holding the telephone. That was how Soda knew where to go. He had gone up to our room so he could call Cherry and talk to her privately after she left. He was going to try to stop the wedding.

"Sandy is Soda's ex. He never got over her and she left after she got pregnant. I think he's on his way to you right now"

"Oh my God"

"Anyway thanks Cherry, you've been a real help. Call me if he gets there alright?"

"Sure Ponyboy"

"Thanks, bye"

"Bye" The line went dead. I turned to Darry and his face was still filled with confusion.

"Darry, Sandy's getting married to Cherry's cousin in Seattle. Soda's gonna try to stop the wedding" Darry looked at me and just stared for a few minutes. Then his face changed from shock to determination.

"Not if we stop him first"

**Dun Duh Duh Da! THE TWIST! Sandy's getting married! More twists to come! Keep reading and reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Ponyboy's POV:

Darry told me to get dressed as soon as I could. When I started to come down the stairs he grabbed me around the waist picking my feet off the ground with one arm and carried me to the car. Apparently I wasn't walking fast enough but I think it was because he didn't want to lose another brother. He needed me there with him. He started to buckle me in when I grabbed his wrist to stop him. He looked up at me with anxious eyes.

"Darry, what about Johnny?" He whipped his head back towards the house.

"Damn it! Hold on," He shut the door and ran into the house. I saw all the lights turn on. I glanced toward the window, still sitting in the car and saw Darry holding the phone in his hand. He talked on the phone of a good 10-15 minutes. I just waited, holding on like he told me to.

Soon after he hung up, a car pulled in next to me. Steve Two-Bit and Dally all came running toward the house when Dally saw me sitting in the car staring at Darry's every move. He ran over and opened the door grabbing my shoulders and shaking them slightly.

"Hey kid, are you alright?" The others waited for him, watching me before they went inside.

"Yeah I'm okay" I lied. Dally grabbed my hand and quickly pulled away.

"Jesus Pony you're freezing. Were you sitting in here without the heat on?" I nodded. I guess I hadn't noticed how cold it was. He grabbed me by the forearm and ushered me into the house with the others. He set me on the couch next to Johnny who was still lying down, but not sleeping anymore, "You just sit and don't move you hear me?" I nodded.

I didn't want to argue with Dally as much as I really did want to go over and talk to Darry. Everyone walked into the kitchen to talk about what was happening and I just stayed put.

"_Now_ can you tell us why you called all of us?" I heard Two-Bit ask from the next room over. He sounded kind of annoyed, like the visit was an inconvenience for him. _I guess Darry really didn't tell them anything._

"Soda's gone to Seattle. Sandy's gettin' married to Cherry's cousin in a few days and he's gonna try to stop the wedding. Ponyboy and I are gonna stop him but you guys need to watch Johnny, I don't wanna send him home."

"Alright Dare we'll watch 'em" Dally and Steve didn't respond. I hoped Dally wouldn't freak out and hurt someone. It was the first time he was hearing any of the news from that night.

"Darry I wanna come with you!" Steve belted.

"Sorry Steve, I can't afford the airfare. It's just gonna have to be Pony and me but I promise I'll bring Sodapop back to you"

"Yeah and we need you to watch Johnny with us, right Dally?" Two-Bit tried to get Steve to give up, but he only got 20 uncomfortable seconds of silence.

"I don't know," Dally started, "I don't do anything all day anyway, I can watch the kid most of the time. Maybe you and Steve should go, Pony ain't lookin' too good anyway. Between Two-Bit and I we can watch 'em both" _OH HELL NO!_

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT PLAN DARE!" I screamed into the other room. I got up and charged in with everyone staring at me. I didn't care, I was only making eye contact with Darry anyway and I had no intention of breaking it anytime soon.

"Pony, maybe he's right-" I had to cut him off. How could Darry possibly think leaving me behind was… _right_?

"NO NO NO! You KNOW I need to see Soda!" Darry looked away remembering the nightmare that woke him up. The one that caused me to scream, all because Sodapop wasn't with me. After a few seconds, Darry finally looked up,

"You're right." Steve looked mad but I didn't care. I needed Soda more than him. It sounded selfish, but I was afraid of what I'd do without Soda by my side for about four days. And I was also positive Two-Bit and Dally wouldn't be able to handle my nightmares, "Ponyboy needs to come with me." Two-Bit and Dal nodded at Darry's words. I hoped that would end the argument but Steve just stormed away out the door.

"We'll find him" Two-Bit assured.

"Great, 'cause we have a flight to catch" Darry patted my back and rushed me to the car. We had to get to Seattle before Soda found Sandy. We just _had_ to.

**Ah! It's getting intense! Can't wait to hear what you guys are thinking! Thanks for reading, reviewing etc!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Ponyboy's POV:

Darry had bought the plane tickets for the next morning. He told me to sleep at the airport but I just couldn't. I was freezing and I wanted Soda with me. He always had his arm around me, and even if Darry had tried to do that, it wouldn't be the same.

At 4:00 am, the airport still had people coming and going. We had arrived there at about 3:40 and once Darry bought the tickets we sat in our plane's section and tried to get some shut eye. Darry fell asleep within the first 10-15 minutes of sitting down but I couldn't judge him. He worked harder than anyone and had probably been fighting sleep since I woke him up screaming.

I just sat and waited, bored out of my mind. I reached into my carry-on and took out my red rubber bouncy ball. I started throwing it on the ground and catching it when it came back up. The little game consumed me. I didn't even realize when I looked at the clock and it read 5:20 am. I had been bouncing a ball for about an hour and twenty. I sighed, if that was life without Sodapop, I didn't want to live in it. Then I heard Darry stir,

"Pony? What time is it?"

"About 5:30" I stated nonchalantly, bouncing the ball again. Darry groaned trying to get back into a normal sitting position in his chair. He looked me over but I just focused on the ball trying to make time fly as fast as it did before.

"Pony did you get any sleep at all tonight?" Well I had had the nightmare at home so I guess I did. But that wasn't sleeping. If anything that was closer to dying.

"...No" He sighed rubbing his eyes.

"Ponyboy that ain't good. You need rest" I held the ball and turned toward him.

"I never said I tried not to… I just couldn't"

"Damn it Ponyboy just lie down and try so that I can pretend to have some peace of mind while I go back to sleep" I obeyed and sat in the uncomfortable chair sideways so my back and ankles were against the armrests with my knees bent. I closed my eyes until I heard him snore then I returned to ball bouncing.

At 9:00 the guy running the entrance into the plane said we could board. I shook Darry awake and told him the news. He pulled himself together and we both got to our seats. He looked over at me when we sat down.

"How was your sleep?" I avoided eye contact with all my power but his eyes were burning holes in the back of my neck, "_Ponyboy?_"

"...Yes?" I wished he wouldn't answer because I knew what his question was gonna be.

"Did you, or did you not, sleep last night?" There was a long silence.

"...Not" Darry leaned back closing his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to sidetrack the oncoming headache.

"Pony, I told you-"

"I know and _I _told you I couldn't… Not without Soda" He opened his eyes to glance at me then gave up with his argument realizing how much the situation affected my health.

"Alright Pony, but I want to see an effort on this plane ride you hear me?" I nodded leaning my head back against the seat shivering. It was so damn cold. I just sat there with me eyes closed, shaking, until I finally fell asleep.

**They're on their way to Seattle! AHHH! Thanks so much for the reviews... again!(I think I'm just gonna say that every chapter from now on). I added some names to my profile for all you new members of the gang who I love! I also added cover images to all my stories including this one. I don't know if they're showing up yet but they will. Anyway, thanks again for reading! Stay Gold! 3**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Darry's POV:

The whole flight to Seattle made me anxious. Ponyboy had finally fallen asleep, he looked peaceful at first but he started to shiver so I asked the flight attendant to bring him a blanket. Once he was engulfed in fleece I felt better.

He had stirred a few times like he was having a bad dream. I couldn't even count how many times he called for Sodapop, but it was a quiet whisper, so no one around him noticed except me.

I knew how much he missed his brother and it scared me to think that he might end up like Soda without Sandy. I mean, weren't we kinda going down the same path? Chasing the one we loved because we couldn't live without them?

We arrived in Seattle right on time. I shook Ponyboy awake gently grabbing his shoulder. He gasped at my touch and his eyes shot open. When his brain caught up with reality the fear from his eyes drained, and so did the energy.

"Ponyboy we're here" He got up and we grabbed our carry-ons. We didn't have to stop by baggage claim. We figured we'd only be there for a few days and fit that much into our carry-ons instead of paying for stowed bags. Pony looked dead on his feet, like his little carry-on weighed him down, "Pony do you need me to carry your bag?"

"No I'm fine Dare" I didn't believe him one bit.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I let it go, there was no winning in an argument with Ponyboy. We sat on a bench outside the airport. I looked around the city waiting for a cab when I spotted a payphone.

"Ponyboy, do you still have Cherry's number?"

"Yeah" he still sounded tired besides his 3 hours of sleep on the plane. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper then handed it to me, "here"

"I'll be right back, stay right here okay?" He nodded. He looked too tired to get up anyway. I jogged to the phone and called Cherry.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cherry, it's Darrell Curtis. Ponyboy and I just got here, we're at the airport I was wondering if you could give us your address so we could attempt to catch Soda gettin' there"

"Sure, you can use some of the guest rooms if you want" I agreed and thanked her. She gave me the address and the code to get in. Real Soc-like, a house with a code like some sort of robot. But I couldn't judge, she was helping us.

"Alright thanks Cherry"

"Good luck" She sounded like she pitied our family. When she hung up, I ran back to Ponyboy. He had his elbows propped on his thighs with his head down. I touched his arm and his head jerked up.

"Oh, hey Dare" I nodded trying to convince myself I should be worrying about Sodapop.

"Hey little buddy" I heard a cab coming and whipped around holding my hand out telling him to stop. I grabbed Ponyboy by the waist along with his bag and jumped in the back with him. I quickly spit the address at the cab driver who was probably intimidated by our appearance anyway, and began to speed away, "Ponyboy? Pony are you awake?"

"mmhmm"

"Hey I need you to pull yourself together alright? You can sleep when the sun goes down" He nodded weakly but I know he'd already be asleep by the time we got to Cherry's. He started to shiver again and without a blanket, I just set his head in my lap, and began rubbing his forearm. I felt his hand and it was freezing. I decided to hold onto it until we got there.

When we pulled up to Cherry's, I ran up to the door putting the code in still supporting Pony's weight with two bags around my right shoulder. When the doors opened, I saw Cherry come over to us.

"Hi guys!" She greeted with enthusiasm, then her expression changed to concern when she eyed Pony, "... Is Ponyboy alright?"

"Yeah" I smirked at her worry, "he just started sleeping at 9:00 am and only got the 3 hours of sleep on the plane"

"Oh, well in that case I'll show you to the guest bedrooms" She direct me up some stairs and showed me the third and fourth door down, "My parents were gonna stay here with me but they decided to stay with my aunts and uncles. They said I could watch the place, so with all the extra room, I figured you guys might as well take up two guest bedrooms" I smiled, thanking her.

She walked back downstairs and I set the sleeping Ponyboy down on the third room's bed. I shook him awake for the last time that day. I decided once I explained where we were I would let him continue to sleep after.

"Ponyboy?" He shivered a little and then opened his eyes to look at me, he jolted his head looking around the room.

"Darry?"

"Yeah bud. We're at Cherry's. I'm gonna be in the next room over so if you need anything just call over to me alright?" He nodded.

"Can I sleep now?" I couldn't help but chuckle. I brushed some hair off his forehead,

"Yeah little buddy, you can sleep now"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Ponyboy's POV:

It was a day until the wedding and there was no sign of Sodapop. I began to worry that maybe we were all wrong. Maybe he wasn't coming there. Cherry had called her cousin's place to see if anyone had shown up there in case Sodapop had gone straight to Sandy, but Mark said no one had come.

I began to think I had lost my older brother. Sure, Darry was there, but he wasn't the same as Soda. My life would never be the same without Sodapop. Even Darry wasn't the _same_ person as he used to be. Even though he'd never admit it, I knew he was losing hope too. Always dragging himself around, hanging on to the little hope he had left as if it meant life or death. It probably did.

I began trying on some Soc clothes Cherry had for us to wear to the wedding. Darry figured, if we were there, we might as well have gone to congratulate the couple. I settled with a nice black suit. It wasn't my style at all, it reminded me of a funeral, but it fit, so I went with it.

I sat down on the bed with the suit laid out for the next day on the end. Darry came in wearing a similar suit, he popped his hip out and made a goofy face.

"You like?" He asked seductively. I nodded smirking, but there was no happiness behind it. He killed the face and sat down next to me. He looked at me but I just stared forward. He put a hand on my knee like he was gonna start lecturing me about how everything would be okay. . . but he never did. I turned my head to look at him.

"Do you think we're gonna find him Dare?" He looked forward, avoiding eye contact and opened his mouth to answer. I cut him off, "And I want an _honest _answer Darry." After he heard that he looked at me like he never had before. His eyes searched mine but only reflected the same sadness. He hesitated before he answered.

"I don't know," I exhaled. I knew that the answer was going to be along those lines but I guess I had an extremely small hope deep down that he'd prove me wrong and say '_yeah bud, of course'_ or '_that's what we're here for right?' _

But most of all, I wanted to hear him say that we _had_ found him and that he had no idea what I was talking about. I would've killed to have heard him say '_he's right downstairs waiting for you' with some chocolate cake!' _But that never came either, and I decided right then and there to stop waiting for it. I couldn't keep hurting myself like that. I needed to let go of hope.

"Should we give up Dare?" I looked at my feet, "Is it even worth-"

"No. Don't give up Pony. Not yet. We still have one more day here." He sounded strange, like he was trying to convince himself too. It was too late anyway. I guess secretly, I really had lost hope a while ago. Deep down in my brain I had been preparing myself from the start to keep my standards at an all time low, and not to let them rise.

I just nodded. Not a nod to agree to what he said, but a nod to acknowledge I heard him, "I love you Ponyboy" he hugged me for a long time and I held back the tears that willed me to hope. I couldn't keep hoping. It was time to give up.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Ponyboy's POV:

Cherry drove Darry and I to the wedding. I felt really uncomfortable going, like we were unwanted guests. When I tried to convince Cherry that Darry and I didn't have to go she insisted and stated that Mark really wanted us there (despite the fact he'd never met us?).

I was still freezing even though I had a suit jacket on, and I heard the reception was outside too. _Great. _I just sat in the back of the car while Cherry and Darry sat up front chatting about Sandy and Mark and how great the wedding is going to be.

I wanted to puke. I hated having to go to that thing. Sodapop wouldn't have wanted us there. I still wasn't sure if I was going to stop the wedding when the guy asked 'speak now or forever hold your piece' because I wasn't sure if I could ever face Soda again knowing I didn't try to stop that whole thing.

We pulled up to the reception and Darry got out opening the driver's side for Cherry and helping her with her dress. It was long and purple with a pink waist strap. She was one of the bridesmaids and I could tell Sandy had the girls pick those out because Sandy _was _caring and would've wanted them in something they liked.

The reception started right away. I scanned the area during the boring 'we are gathered here today...' speech but I came up with nothing but people I didn't know. No sign of Soda. Sandy stood holding hands with Mark.

He looked nice, a clean cut black suit to match his perfect clean cut light brown hair. His hair looked like a buzz cut except for the small front bangs that were sculpted into a wave with hair gel. His blue eyes glistened with the sunset as he stared at Sandy. He looked like your everyday average beach-boy Ken doll. He was a good size and would definitely be a Soc back in Tulsa.

As for Sandy… well, Sandy looked… beautiful. Her blue eyes matched the color of the glitter on her dress. It was a v-cut that went pretty low but not low enough to make her look too desperate.

The glitter started at the two chest pieces that were on both sides of the v-cut. There was a lot of sapphire blue glitter towards the top but then it sprinkled out towards the waistline revealing the elegant white fabric that clung to her body showing off every curve, including her baby belly. The gown trailed to the floor where the glitter started to sprinkle again at her calves and piled at the bottom of the train.

Of course, the dress was big around the waist, she was still pregnant. I wondered what Mark thought about the baby, but I had met Sandy and she was a charming girl so, like Soda, he probably didn't care if she was pregnant or not. He'd be willing to raise a baby for her.

It came to the dreaded part when the man asked if we had any reason to keep the two from marrying. For a split second I thought I would intervene, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. If I was going to truly give up any hopes of finding Sodapop, I had to pretend I didn't care what he thought, because he wasn't coming back.

When the reception ended, Sandy started to cut the cake. I took one look at it and immediately gripped my stomach trying not to thrown up. I'd know that flavor anywhere. It was chocolate. Sandy had chosen _chocolate cake_ for her wedding- Soda's favorite.

Darry eyed me from across the reception with Cherry. Cherry hadn't noticed me grip my stomach through the crowd but I knew, _when it came to me_, Darry didn't miss a beat. He slipped away from Cherry's view, trying not to make a scene, and quickly snuck over to me.

"Hey Ponyboy are you okay, you're kinda pale" I looked down at the grass under my feet.

"It's chocolate Darry. The cake's chocolate," he looked confused at first but then he understood. He kneeled down to look me in the eye.

"Ponyboy, I know this has been extremely hard for you… the _whole_ reception. But, I want you to have hope. I want you to believe we'll find him soon." I shook my head with my arm still wrapped around my stomach as I keeled over.

"But Darry that's just it. I can't keep hoping, _that's_ what hurts. I keep hoping and I always end up coming up with nothing. Everything reminds me of him Darry this whole damn town reminds me of him because this is where we were supposed to find him and DIDN'T!"

I started bawling as I sat down in front of him pulling my knees to my chest to avoid anyone seeing me. Luckily I had been standing as far away from the party as possible in the first place, so everyone was a good 20 feet away around the cake table with Sandy, Mark, and _the cake_.

Darry looked helpless, unsure of what to do. I felt bad, I shouldn't have stated everything so matter-of-factly, I had left him with nothing to counter my statement and I had rendered him speechless. He took one long exhale and waited for me to control myself.

"Ponyboy, we still have one night here, we leave tomorrow. I'll bring you back to Cherry's right after I talk to Mark and S-... _and_ congratulate him" he tried to avoid saying her name to keep my feelings at bay, but I _knew_ her name and he wasn't fooling me. I was still miserable.

"No" I stopped him as he started to rise, "Darry, you can enjoy yourself here. Cherry's place is only a few blocks down and I know the code. I'll walk back."

"Are you sure you can get back okay"

"Yeah… Yeah I can" He nodded and walked over to Cherry, Mark, and Sandy. I approached them, I had spent all that time watching the reception, I might as well talk to them. I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat making sure my voice still wasn't filled with tears.

"Hey! You must be Ponyboy!" Mark put out his hand and I shook it reluctantly. Mark seemed nice. His personality was perfect for Sandy. Light-hearted, just like… well you know who.

"Yeah, congratulations on your marriage. This whole place looks real nice" I tried to avoid the whole 'marriage' as much as possible, I figured decor was a good substitute.

"Oh this whole thing was Sandy's doing. I can call her over so you can talk to her if you'd like" So much for 'decor is a good substitute'.

"No no it's fine, as you know, we've met before. She's talking to Cherry and Darry anyway, I don't want to interrupt" He frowned.

"Are you sure?" he smiled, getting another idea, "Would you like some cake?" I swallowed back the contents of my stomach as they made their way up my throat.

"No it's fine. I'm actually on my way back to Cherry's. I just wanted to congratulate you before I left"

"Aw, that's real nice of you bud. Well, it was nice meeting you!" He shook my hand again.

"Yeah, thanks for inviting us Mark, I've had a swell time" _Boy could I put on a show. _I walked over to Darry to tell him I was going home when I heard the sweetest little voice call my name from behind.

"Hey Ponyboy" I turned to see Sandy waving to me, I _wanted_ to like her, I knew she was nice, but I just couldn't. She drove Soda away, and I just couldn't handle that.

"Hi Sandy" I turned back to Darry and opened my mouth to tell him I was leaving, "I'm glad you came" I turned back around to face her. I knew there was no getting out of the conversation, so I figured I'd make it quick and as painless as possible.

"Yeah? Well, the place looks real nice. So did the cake" She smiled, I saw her blush slightly. I wasn't sure if she knew chocolate was Sodapop's favorite, or just got nervous when complimented.

"Thanks" I smiled as if to say 'yeah whatever you're welcome, are we done here?' and then turned back to Darry.

"I'm going back now," Darry didn't get to answer because Sandy decided to interrupt again,

"So soon?"

"Yeah, I haven't been feeling well" It was kinda true. I was awfully cold and even the thought of the cake made me sick to my stomach. Darry grabbed my left shoulder and finally had a chance to speak.

"I'll be back in a bit alright?" I nodded. I started walking back to the house when about a block from the wedding someone grabbed me and pulled me behind a convenience store, covering my mouth.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Two-Bit's POV:

All week Steve had been a mess. He said he was mad at Darry for bringing Ponyboy instead of him, but I knew he was mostly just frustrated about Sodapop leaving. Dally and I just hung out with Johnny most of the time.

Johnny and I skipped school the beginning of that week. A few days off never hurt anyone and both of us were not in the mood to go. We all hung out around the DX most of the days. It was relatively warm out and it was nice to just sit and chat for a few days.

"They're coming home tomorrow guys!" I tried to pump everyone up but no one had the energy. Johnny seemed to catch onto my plan.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun to see them back again." Dally smirked but Steve stayed silent, "Have y'all heard anything from the guys yet?" Johnny asked.

"No." Steve grumbled pouting, "Darry _said_ he'd keep me posted, but I guess they haven't found him yet." Dally turned and slapped him across the face.

"Don't you EVER think like that kid! I'm tired of you being in such a bad mood all the time and trying to bring the rest of us down with you!" Johnny and I stared at Dally with our eyes wide.

"_Sor-_ry," Steve emphasized, "but my best friend is missing and I have no idea where he is! If my bad mood is bothering you then don't bother talking to me!" _Jesus!_ Everyone had to lighten up. Johnny wheeled over to them.

"Come on guys. Don't fight" he pleaded. If anyone else had spoken up, Dally and Steve would've gotten even angrier, but since it was Johnny, they both shut up.

And so the day went on...

**I know this is short but I thought it would be funny to leave you guys at Ponyboy's cliff hanger and then switch back to Tulsa. Sorry, that sounds mean... oh well! Don't worry though, we'll probably be back to Pony by the end of the day.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Ponyboy's POV:

I tried to scream but the hand around my mouth only gripped tighter. He pulled me behind a few buildings so we were in an empty lot. I squirmed, but the man had my arms behind my back with his other hand. He brought me to the ground, and eventually I gave up on my efforts to escape. Without Sodapop, what did it matter if I got jumped?

The hand slowly came down only take one of my arms from behind me so he had an arm in each hand. I tried to look back at him so I could kick him in the face but he wouldn't let me turn around. I just sat there slumped forward.

Then he did something I didn't expect, he let go. I didn't try to get up, I knew he'd catch me. He came around and kneeled in front of me so I could see his face. My chin dropped.

"SODAPOP?!" He smiled and hugged me. I didn't dare let go, but I still needed to talk to him and hear his voice, "Jesus Soda, you scared the crap outta me"

"Sorry Ponyboy, I didn't want you screaming and getting anyone's attention" I wanted to cry but I couldn't, I had to be able to speak to him. He pulled away from me still holding me by the forearms as his eyes teared up, "How the _hell _did you know to come here?"

"I remembered Cherry mentioning the wedding and figured it was my best bet to call her and get some details" He chuckled.

"I should've known you'd figure it out. Did Darry pay for airfare?" I nodded and he looked upset, "I didn't mean to put you guys through-"

"It was nothing, we'd do anything to try to find you" He looked me over taking it all in.

"Don't take this the wrong way Ponyboy, but you look like hell" I blushed. _Now I have to explain myself._

"I stopped sleeping while you were gone. It was too cold here to sleep anyway" He looked concerned. His level of sadness seemed to increase since the statement about the airfare.

"Cold? Ponyboy it ain't even that bad here" He took my hand, "You're freezing! I gotta get you back home. Where are you stayin'?"

"'bout a block away at Cherry's place. You can come back there too. We've kinda been waiting for you"

We walked back to Cherry's and Sodapop told me everything. He told me how he had been staying in the lot for a while and wanted to go to Sandy's wedding to stop it, but couldn't. He said if she was happy so was he. I didn't believe him, but I was glad he was showing _some_ signs of getting over her.

In exchange for everything he told me, I told him everything about the gang at home, Darry and I leaving, and I _had_ to explain my sleeping habits. He was just as concerned as Darry was about it, but I didn't really see a point in worrying about silly little things like sleep when your brother may be dead somewhere.

Despite all the room in the house, I told Sodapop to share a guest bedroom with me. He sat on the bed and I looked him over. How could he say _I_ looked like hell when he looked like _that_? He wore a filthy white t-shirt with a ripped, mud splattered denim jacket. His jeans were a mess and the holes seemed to be bigger than usual. It probably just trama added to the regular ripped-jean fashion statement. His hair was still greased but there were pieces all out of place with clumps of dirt stuck in some pieces too. His face and hands were also dirty. After all, he had been sleeping outside for a few days.

I told him to jump in the shower and wash up. I had brought some of his extra clothes in my carry-on, they made the bag a bit heavier, but it was still worth it. I asked where his clothes were and he said most were hidden away at home. He didn't really bring anything with him to Seattle. After a long silence, he spoke up.

"Did she ask about me?" He sat next to me on the bed after he had changed into clean clothes and I had changed out of the Soc-suit.

"Huh?"

"Ya know… Did she ask 'bout me?" I quickly figured out who he was talking about, I just shook my head.

"I didn't really talk to her all that much. I felt sick sitting there" He looked at me making sure I was okay, "No," I stopped him before he thought I was actually sick, "it's just, I wasn't really in the mood to party. All she had to eat there was cake. I couldn't eat that." He cocked an eyebrow, reminding me of Two-Bit.

"Why? You love cake"

"... it was chocolate." He still seemed confused at first, but then his eyebrows rose along with his realization.

"Ponyboy-"

"It's fine. I just… I don't want to talk about when you were gone anymore, okay?" He hesitated and then began to nod

"Sure Pony. You just worried me a lot"

"How come?" he looked away from me and I thought he was going to cry, but I guess I was wrong.

"Well you didn't even know who I was when I dragged you into the lot a while ago and I saw you fight but after about 5 minutes you gave up. I wondered why, because you could've been killed if I was really tryin' to jump you. But now, you're saying you weren't eating, sleeping or even able to think of things that reminded you of me. That just scares me a lot" I hadn't thought about how much I had given away. I always told Sodapop everything without thinking.

"Oh… sorry" I shivered in my little t-shirt. Cherry must have had the air conditioner on.

"You still cold Ponyboy?" I shook my head only to have another shiver reveal my lie. He came close to me and put his arm around my waist, warming me with his body heat.

"Thanks"

"Sure"

Darry came home shortly after and I hadn't even noticed. I had fallen asleep in Soda's arms and he woke me, when he heard the door open and tried to get up. My eyes fluttered and I looked around to see Soda heading for the bedroom door.

"What are you doing?" He whipped his head around.

"I'm gonna go see Darry" I shook my head as I gripped onto consciousness as if by my finger.

"Don't! Let me talk to him first" He nodded and I got up, quickly situating myself. I ignored the light-headedness that came with standing up, right after sleeping, "DARRY?" I screamed downstairs trying to get him to hear me. I nodded to Soda and went out the door quickly shutting it, leaving Sodapop in the bedroom. Darry immediately came running up the stairs.

"PONYBOY! Pony, are you alright?" I nodded and he sighed in relief, "Why'd you call me?"

"I have a surprise…" I bit my lip in anticipation. I didn't want my smile to give me away.

"Ponyboy, I'm really not in the mood. Sandy broke down at the party. That's why Cherry and I are late. She said seeing you reminded her of Sodapop. She couldn't take it… I don't know" he brushed his hair back. He _did _look beat. _A lot of emotions today_

"I promise Darry you'll be in the mood for this one!" I pleaded linking my fingers together showing how much I wanted him to come into my guest room.

"Fine" he smirked. I told him to close his eyes as I walked him into the bedroom leading him with my hand. Then… I told him to open them!

**:o Soda's back! Tell me what you think! Darry's response comin' up next!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

"Holy-"

"I know" I bit my lip again, hiding my smile why Darry made eye contact with Sodapop.

"Soda?" Darry put out his arms, waiting for a hug. Sodapop ran into them, squeezing Darry as tight as he could, "I missed you so much little buddy!" They both began to cry in each other's arms. Sodapop signaled for me to join the hug, so I did. We all just stood there hugging and crying for the longest time. Then, Cherry walked in,

"Sodapop Curtis." She smirked shaking her head in the doorway, with her arms crossed, "I thought we'd never see you again" She came over to give Soda a hug and then stepped away.

"Hey Cherry" Soda blushed, it was probably awkward for him to have Sandy's friend know everything about why he left.

"Don't worry," she stated, "I didn't tell Sandy anything"

"Thanks" he looked at the ground.

"Anyway," She looked at all of us, "You guys can start packing for the airport, I'm catching a flight late tomorrow instead "

"How come?" I had to ask. She had been planning to leave with us since we had gotten there.

"Well, after Sandy's blowup at the wedding I have to stay an extra day to help her figure things out. It was nice seeing you again Soda" Cherry ran out of the room and drove off to Sandy and Mark's place before Soda could ask her anything about Sandy.

"Darry what the hell happened at the wedding" Soda looked like he'd actually kill someone to get the information out. Darry hesitated, but there was no way he could lie out of that one.

"Sandy saw Ponyboy… he reminded her of you… she just… I don't know, she just broke down I guess" Sodapop looked stunned.

"Should I go see her?"

"NO!" Darry and I both screamed at the top of our lungs. There was no way we were going to let him get that close to her again. Hell, the girl just got married!

"Alright, I guess I'll just stay here" Soda said defeated, sitting on the bed next to me.

"Good," Darry started, "Now if y'all're packed for the flight, try to get some sleep because we leave EARLY"

"K Dare" Darry shut the light off leaving Soda and I in bed next to each other alone. I started to shiver again and Sodapop rolled over to look at me.

"You sure you're okay Pony?"

"Yeah, just cold I guess" I tried my hardest to swallow the shivers that insisted on rising up my spine. Sodapop reached his arm over me, trapping his body heat in.

"Th-Thanks" He laughed at how cold I was, but it was shaky, like he was nervous 'bout me or something. I just ignored it, and fell into a deep sleep, enveloped in my brother's arms once again.

**Okay guys I'm really sorry but I'm going on a school trip until Friday and probably wont be able to write for the next three days. I might be able to get another chapter in by the end of the day but I'm not sure so just hang in there okay? Thanks guys, you're awesome! STAY GOLD! **


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

Ponyboy's POV:

I woke up sweating. Apparently, Sodapop had wrapped himself around me all night _and_ pulled the covers over me. It was boiling, but I couldn't bare to try and get out of his arms for several minutes. I was just so glad he was back. I started to flinch under his arm when he stirred.

" 'You awake Pony?" He asked groggily. He let me escape his grasp so I could roll over onto my back instead of my side. I nodded.

"Yeah. What time is it?" I rubbed my eyes starting to try to get out of the covers that were burning me.

"Woah! Slow down Ponyboy," Soda put his hand on my lowering me back down, "it's only 4:30. We don't have to get ready for another hour or so,"

"oh…" I closed my eyes again, "Soda?"

"Yeah Pony?"

"I'm glad you're back."

"Me too little buddy, now go back to sleep" and that's exactly what I did. Letting myself drift back into the comfort of my brother's embrace.

**Okay I know this is short and late but I just got back yesterday and I promised it would only be 3 days before I wrote again so I HAD to write today. Thanks for hanging in there and sticking with the story guys. It means a lot. LOTS MORE COMING SOON! Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

Ponyboy's POV:

I looked at the clock: 5:00. I still had another half hour. I rolled over to see Soda gone. I sat up and looked around the room. I was alone. I jolted out of bed and slammed my hand on Darry's door as hard as I could.

"DARRY!" He wouldn't open the door, "DARRY DON'T PLAY WITH ME!" Still no answer. I panicked looking up and down the hallways still finding nothing. Then I heard footsteps bolting up the stairs happy to find Darry running over to me. I exhaled, letting my back slide down the door in relief.

"Ponyboy, I'm right here, I was only downstairs making breakfast, shhh calm down" my breathing was erratic. Darry kneeled next to me and combed my hair off my forehead trying to calm me down.

"Darry, Soda's not in our room!" He shot up, and ran into our room quickly coming out and searching the hallway that I had already covered.

"When did you last see him Pony?"

"Uh… today… this morning at, uh, 4:30 I think. He was still in bed." Darry nodded realizing he probably couldn't have gotten far.

"Ponyboy?"

"Yeah?" I searched his eyes that looked like they had discovered something. I _needed_ to know if he knew where Soda was!

"What's that on your shirt?" I reached around to the left side of my torso to find yet another note from Soda taped to my shirt. I began to read it out loud.

"Be back before 5:30 I promise ~Soda" I sighed in relief with Darry as he helped me up and brought me to the kitchen where he had made some eggs, "Sorry 'bout the scare Dare" He shook his head.

"You did the right thing Ponyboy especially after what he did this week. It was normal for you to think he had run off again. He kinda did anyway" I nodded taking another bite of my eggs. They weren't that appetizing knowing Soda was still out in an unknown area.

The door creaked open, interrupting my thoughts. Sodapop crept in and didn't notice Darry and me sitting at the Valance's kitchen table, frozen. Darry broke the silence before Soda could tip-toe upstairs.

"Where've you been" he hadn't looked up from his eggs once and was using an odd tone of voice, like he was taking the whole situation remarkably well. Soda jumped at our voices clenching the area of his shirt that covered his heart.

"Jesus Darry," he caught his breath, "I was out… that's all" Darry turned around to look him right in the eye.

"You almost gave your brother and me heart attacks you know that?" Soda didn't dare speak, "Now if I want to know the _BIG_ important reason you put us through that, I'm gonna get it" Soda nodded.

"I went to see Cherry at Mark's place..." Darry and I sighed, clearly upset. _If this was about Sandy- _"Don't worry!" He put his hands out defensively as if he had read my mind, "I didn't visit Sandy, I just went to talk to Cherry" Darry threw his hands in the air.

"Yeah to talk _ABOUT_ Sandy!" He didn't sound angry, just annoyed.

"So what if I did?"

"You gotta get over her Soda" Darry really sounded upset. Soda started up the stairs when halfway up he turned around to look at Darry and me.

"I AM over her!" He defended, "She's not over me!" He stopped again about ¾ of the way up the stairs this time and mumbled "... I'm sorry if I caused you two to worry..." then he bolted up the stairs locking the door to our room.

I quickly put my dish in the sink to wash later and ran up the stairs to our room where the door was locked. As I continued to jiggle the doorknob I heard Darry answer the front door. Then I heard a voice that made me want to vomit.

"Hey Darry… Is Soda still around" The voice was soft, like the petals of a daisy, yet sweet like a jar of honey at a sunset picnic. I looked over the banister at Sandy and saw her in a knee-high yellow-lace dress. She was a Greaser, so it took a lot for her to show up dressed like _that_.

"Look Sandy… I don't know if you should be here-"

"_Please_ answer my question Darrel" She demanded with eyes like angry embers. _There's the Greaser I know! _

"Yes… he's here" Darry hung his head reluctantly letting her in as she ran upstairs right next to me banging on the door.

"Sodapop?… Please Soda open up. I don't love Mark like I loved you. I'll never love anyone like I loved you!"

"Bull!" I shouted at her face. I didn't even know I was doing it, "Sodapop loved you more than anyone in the world and you threw him out like trash and broke his heart! You drove him away from home! You starved him! You hurt all of us! And now you have Mark- who seems like a really nice guy- and you're about to hurt him just like you hurt Soda! For the sake of your child, I strongly suggest you get your life together before you ruin our's some more!" I was breathing heavily as she stared at me horrified.

"Ponyboy-"

"Get away from me. Get away from my brothers. Leave this house _now_!" I was pretty calm, but demanding and firm enough to get the message across.

I knew Soda would probably hate what I did and Darry would hate the way I yelled at a lady, but this was for family, and it felt right. Sandy ran down the stairs as fast as her yellow heels could carry her. She blew right by Darry and flew straight out the door. I waited in silence to hear her drive off, not moving a muscle. Darry jogged up the stairs to find me still frozen, letting what had just happened sink in.

"Ponyboy? You okay Pony?... I'm proud of you. You stood up for your brother and your family. You hear that Ponyboy I ain't mad" I turned my head to look at him. His eyes seemed sincere enough.

"Really?… But I yelled-"

"You helped her Ponyboy. Whether it seemed like it or not you helped her. You're right, it's better for her to take time to get her life together before she tries to ditch Mark for Sodapop," He patted my back supportively, then he turned to the door banging on it, "Soda? Soda she's gone. We ain't mad at you... please come out"

The knob turned and Sodapop slowly opened the door letting us both inside.

**We are back in business! Another successful chapter written! I know I've been on and off with the writing this week but I'm going to make it up to you starting with this relatively long chapter. I should be back to writing everyday from now on so dust off your reading eyes! Thanks for keeping with this story and even though I wrote such a dinky little chapter 17 you guys still reviewed! That's amazing! Thank you so much and stay gold!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

Ponyboy's POV:

Now Darry and I understood why Soda had left to talk to Cherry earlier. Sandy was a mess, and despite how much he wanted to fix things with Sandy, Sodapop wanted to go home more than anything.

Darry, Soda, and I thanked the Valance family for letting us use their "guest house" for the last couple of days. We got on the plane right on time and Soda's leg bounced the whole way to Oklahoma, wanting the plane to fly at full speed home.

"Soda?"

"Yeah Pone?" He stared straight ahead looking over the heads of people in front of us trying to see if the flight attendants were going to make the announcement declaring we were landing soon.

"Why do you want to go home so bad?" I kinda knew the answer, but I had to know we weren't running away from problems that would just bite us in the butt later, like Sandy did.

"Just homesick that's all" I nodded, fighting the urge to reach out and grab his leg so it would stop bouncing. I turned the AC on over my head, I wasn't cold anymore, in fact, I was warm.

Soon a flight attendant started to make her way to the front of the plane with a little microphone clipped to her vest. She was dressed in a tight royal blue shirt that cut off at her knees. She wore the same color vest with a white undershirt and a nacho-yellow colored ascot. Her nametag read Crystal.

Crystal wasn't "thin" but she wasn't fat either. Her brown hair was pulled up into a short ponytail that swung from side to side as she walked. When she spoke her voice was just as perky as her hairdo.

"Hello everyone!" She smiled, "The plane is a few minutes away from its decent! Fasten your seatbelts and stay put, we should land in Oklahoma in a little bit!" She bounced all the way down the aisle to the back of the plane. I liked her because she reminded me of my mom, sunny and positive even if she didn't have to be.

When the plane landed Steve, Two-Bit, Dally, and Johnny were all waiting for us with a sign that read "Curtis" on it. They all wore sun-glasses to try to make them look like the official cab drivers that picked people up off planes but anyone could tell they were fake just by how dysfunctional they were as a group of Greasers.

"SODA?!" Steve screamed running to him and grabbing his shoulders, "I thought I'd never see you again, do you know how nervous you made me?" Soda smiled at Steve's motherly concern and then we all exchanged hugs like a bunch of weird out-of-place Greasers.

We all gathered into Dally's car and drove back to our place. The home-coming party lasted all night, even after Two-Bit passed out drunk for 15 minutes. Johnny fell asleep on the couch as I fought sleep with all my strength.

At 2:00 Dally went out to do who-knows-what who-knows-where. Steve was on the couch with Soda and I (Soda in the middle) and was busy chatting it up with him as my eyelids fluttered. Darry walked into the room just as my eyelids began to shut permanently.

"You look beat Ponyboy, let's head up to bed"

"M'kay" I hummed. I was going to fight, but 90% of my body was already asleep anyway. Darry scooped me up and set me down on the bed. Soda walked into the room and Darry asked him to help get Two-Bit off the couch so they could get Johnny to sleep too and I knew that Sodapop was finally back in our lives again.

**The request I got wanted this story to be LONG (don't worry I'm not talking 100 chapters or anything) I just don't want you guys thinking it's over. There are plenty more plot twists to come! Thanks for Reading and Reviewing!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

Sodapop's POV:

Ponyboy moved off my back, waking me up. I heard him adjust to sitting position and turn the lamp on. Of course he was reading. I turned over on my side to look at him.

"Hey Pony, whatcha doin'?" He jumped a little and then smiled.

"Just reading…" I looked at the clock -5:00. Pony had another hour1/2 to sleep before he had to get ready for school.

"It's Monday, and it's 5:00, why are you up?"

"I don't know… just too much energy from the party last night or something" I knew he was lying. He wouldn't look up from his page. I gave him an annoyed face with a nice long silence so he'd look up.

"Seriously. Why are you up?" He sighed ready to speak.

"K, you wanna know what's _real-ly_ bothering me?"

"YES!"

"You woke up early in the morning the other day to talk to Cherry about Sandy instead of just fixing things with Sandy. I mean, I know _why _you went there, but you wanted to fix things with _Sandy _in the first place, so why bring Cherry into it? It just doesn't add up for me… Were you lying?"

"NO!" I defended too quickly. His face paled.

"Sodapop if we don't have honesty as brothers then we don't have anything"

"Says the boy who told me he was 'too excited from the party last night to sleep'" I smirked trying to lighten the mood but he kept his angry face on, "Just forget it okay, I just didn't want to have to see Sandy again… I was afraid of the outcome…" That seemed to please him enough… but that wasn't the truth

…and that upset me.

**Chapter 20! Another turning point! :D! Keep doing what you're doing (Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, Following) Love you guys!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Ponyboy's POV:

All day I worked my butt off to make up for the school work I had missed. I was trying, but my mind kept wandering off to Sodapop. He had never really lied to me until all the 'Sandy business' and it was starting to make me wonder if he was lying to me about going to talk to Cherry too.

Don't get me wrong, I had NO IDEA for a counter option… I mean, what else could he have been doing in Seattle several hours before wake up time that didn't involve Sandy? I couldn't figure it out. I just hoped I wasn't losing the bond I had had with my brother for so long. I just couldn't lose him again.

I met up with Two-Bit and Johnny on the way home, still racking my brain. Two-Bit had Johnny's wheelchair by the handles getting a running start followed by Two-Bit's foot latching on the back bringing the chair into a full on wheelie. Two-Bit cackled at his childlike stunts as Dally popped out from a nearby drug store yelling at the shop clerk,

"DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE IF CIGARETTES CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS?" He screamed, "Why don't you lose some weight before you talk to me about 'health problems'!" He made his way over to us and saw Two-Bit mid-wheelie, "Whadda ya doin' man? You tryin' to kill the kid or somethin'?"

"Sorry Dal" Two-Bit surrendered, overdramatically slumping his shoulders and puffing out his lower lip.

"You should be apologizin' to the kid about almost killin' him. If you wanna say sorry to me it should be about making me look at that face" Two-Bit smiled popping right back into his normal goofy self.

"What's going on Dal?" Johnny asked.

"Tried to buy some cancer-sticks back at the store but the cashier said he's being payed to tell the customers all the health risks they cause or something. Ain't no way I'm buyin' from him" Two-Bit and Johnny cracked smiles. Dally wouldn't put up with anything even if it was right to do, "Hey how you doing kid?" Dally patted my back.

"Good I guess" I tried to smirk, but I knew I wasn't happy. I needed to know the truth about Sodapop before my mind could really rest.

"Ponyboy you've been quiet the whole walk home" Two-Bit brought up. Johnny turned in his wheelchair as much as his body could in order to face me.

"Yeah Pony, everything alright?" When it came to Johnny, being able to lie became a lot harder, and I knew I wasn't convincing.

"Sure" We arrived in my driveway just in time. Two-Bit wheeled Johnny into his spot next to the couch while Dally raided my drawer of cigarettes trying to find a new pack.

"Pony you got anymore?"

"No. Darry says I gotta lay off for a while" I needed one then, more than I ever had.

"Here kid, you look like you need it. Just don't tell your older brother" Two-Bit handed me a cigarette and gave one to Dally in the process.

"Thanks" I went out onto the porch just in time to catch Steve walking up the driveway without Sodapop, "Steve, where's Soda?"

"Went out to the movies" Steve just kept walking. _What?_

"With who?" He stopped and turned around to face me.

"I don't know, I'm not nosey like _some _people" He snorted, turning around again to go inside. I brushed it off, I had to find Sodapop to get to the bottom of this whole disappearing act.

"Tell Darry I'll be home for dinner"

"Whatever" I ran down the street towards the movies, ready to discover Sodapop's secret.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

Sodapop's POV:

I knew it! I knew I wouldn't be able to get away with it! Ponyboy was just too smart. He'd figure me out the minute Steve got home. Thing is, I wasn't at the movies. I was at his school… waiting for _her._

She was extremely pretty. Thin enough to be a supermodel but healthy enough to not be the nasty looking skinny. She wore pink the day I met with her. A light purple cami with a pink business looking jacket with a skirt the same shade of strawberry-smoothie pink.

She approached me and my breath caught in my throat. _Ponyboy wouldn't approve of this_. He wouldn't want me to like her the way I did.

"Cherry!" I greeted. She came over to me, her tight mini-skirt showing off her perfect body.

"Hey Sodapop," she looked at the floor, "did you tell him yet?" I knew exactly who she was talking about.

"Not exactly…" she frowned, "Well I need to be sure we're official first" I recovered

"Sodapop, I like you, but I can't be known as your girlfriend with the whole Socs vs Greasers conflict"

"Can _I _know you as my girlfriend?" She smirked and moved closer to me so her chest was only inches away from mine.

"I guess that would be alright" I smiled, I really _did_ like Cherry a lot, she filled the void Sandy had left untreated.

"I'm glad we met up with each other in Seattle that morning"

"Well you _really did_ want to help Sandy. You're a good friend Sodapop"

"Thanks," I stared into her hazel-blue eyes as her's pivoted between mine. I tilted my head to the side as I leaned in, lifting my hands to gently grab the sides of her neck.

Then… we kissed.

All this time we had been hanging out secretly but we had never _kissed_ before. I loved it. The way her lips met mine was perfection. It reminded me of Sandy but this time there was no heartbreak afterward, just… bliss.

She pulled away slowly as the kiss came to an end. I kept my eyes closed, enjoying the moment. My hands, still resting lightly on the sides of her neck, felt her head turn to the side. I opened my eyes and followed her gaze to Ponyboy standing in shock watching us.

I quickly brought my hands down into my pockets and as if we read each other's minds, Cherry and I both took a giant step away from each other as if that would kill what Ponyboy just saw. He made eye contact with me and immediately moved to look at Cherry, not able to endure whatever he saw in me. I saw tears in his eyes. What I had done was so wrong and I knew it. This was Ponyboy's friend. This was Ponyboy's _girl_. And I had taken her away from him.

So here it came… the heartbreak that followed the bliss.

Ponyboy turned to run and I whipped my head to the side to look at Cherry. Little, shaken, shivering, Cherry. She looked so upset but I didn't have time to talk to her. I nodded to her that I had to run after him and she nodded back, jumping into her car and speeding home.

"PONYBOY!" I yelled, but he just kept running. I wasn't in the same shape as him and I was starting to slow down but then I noticed, so was he.

Eventually, about 150 meters ahead of me, he fell to the side, dropping onto the grass. I sped up as fast as I could until my heart felt like bursting. I kneeled next to him and realized he was in the fetal position with his eyes closed, crying like I'd never seen before. Crying! I had done this to him!

"Ponyboy- Pony please don't cry… please" I didn't know what to do. His breathing was labored and he looked like he wanted to die. I had felt this feeling before with Sandy, and I knew he probably felt just like he looked… that horrified me, "Ponyboy… I- I'm so sorry… I didn't mean- I guess it just kinda happened… I didn't want to hurt you- I'm so sorry." He collected himself as much as he could to open his eyes and look at me.

"I-I ha-have noth-nothin-g to say to y-you" He choked. I felt like I had been hit in the gut with a wrecking ball. But it was true, what could he say to me?

"I'm so sorry Ponyboy… what I did was WRONG and I wont ever talk to her again okay? She's your friend-"

"You- you think I'm mad… because you kissed Cherry?" He propped himself up on his elbows with tears still streaming down his cheeks leaving bright red trails.

"Uh… no?" He heard my response and scoffed. He pulled himself together so he could talk perfectly.

"I'm upset Soda. I'm devastated actually..." My eyes watered. _If it wasn't about Cherry then…? _"I'm upset because… you've always been the brother I can talk to and confide in. We NEVER even dreamed of lying to each other before all your problems with Sandy! ...When I yelled at Sandy… I wasn't mad at _her_ really. I was more mad at what she made you!" He swallowed, pausing to collect himself enough to continue, "You lied to me Sodapop… I stayed at the damn movies FOR HOURS looking for you and asking anyone in sight if they had seen you! I thought you had run away again or something!... I love Cherry enough to let her be with whoever she wants to be with- I don't care if you guys are together... but you lying to me… I've worried we've been drawing apart but I've always hoped it was all in my head. Now that it's confirmed. . . I don't know what to do" He made eye contact with me, "I've lost you Sodapop… and that hurts like hell" He looked down at the grass, and I died a little inside.

"Pony- I-I'm right here" He raised his head and looked at me with his eyes like embers.

"Are you?" He rose and started walking away wiping his tears as his legs carried him home. I ran after him catching up pretty quickly.

"Pony-"

"Don't!" He ran inside our house and into the bathroom locking the door. Darry watched him,

"Hey Steve said you'd be home by dinner we've you been?" Pony didn't respond. Darry sounded more frustrated than angry and I wanted to tell him to stop yelling at Ponyboy, but I knew that's not what Pony would've wanted to hear. Me defending him would've upset the situation more. I noticed Johnny was on the couch, asleep. _With all this yelling? _I looked at Darry questioningly.

"Oh!" he started, "Doc put him on these special pain meds. They knock. Him. Out! But they work so he can take them before bed each night" I went white, "Soda? Jesus you look like you're gonna pass out what's the matter with you?"

"Where are the pain meds Dare?" He looked confused. He grabbed my shoulder setting me down in the chair behind me, "Darry I'm not gonna pass out!"

"You don't know what you look like" He shook his head. He _did _look awfully nervous but there was no time for that.

"Darry how did Ponyboy take it when I was gone?"

"BAD!" He said with his eyes wide.

"Darry, now I'm gonna ask you one more time, **where are the pain meds**?"

"Bathroom. Why?" I tried to get up but Darry pushed me back down, "Why?" He demanded.

"Pony's in there, he's real upset… he might try to take-"

"Sh*t!" We both ran to the bathroom pounding on the door. No one answered and Darry ran back into the living room as I continued my panicked pounding. He returned minutes later with a skeleton key quickly unlocking the door to reveal Ponyboy in the corner of the bathroom.

**Thanks for the new review! Here's Another chapter for you! I really hope you liked this one! Betcha didn't think it was Cherry he was with all the time right? I know I know this cliff hanger is rough, but you are gonna have to wait 'til tomorrow to find out what happens next! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Darry's POV:

He sat in the corner curled up, balling his eyes out. His eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying for hours, and next to him sat two very large pills, with an open bottle labeled 'For Johnny'. I ran over to him flushing the pills, immediately closing the bottle, and placing it in my pocket. He hadn't taken any yet.

I grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. They didn't look like eyes. They looked like swirling circles of pain. He looked like Mom and Dad had died again.

"What the hell is going on?" I looked at Ponyboy and Sodapop for an answer. Ponyboy just broke down at the sound of my voice.

"I don't know Darry" he cried, "Why don't you ask Soda?" We both turned to him, he walked into the room and sat next to me looking Ponyboy right in the eye.

"I'm so sorry Ponyboy. But _this _isn't the answer to anything" He gestured to my pocket with the container of pills inside.

"I just had a headache damn it! Those aspirins weren't doin' a thing anyway" Pony just crossed his arms turning his head away from us and staring at the wall.

"He's mad at me Dare," Soda spoke up, "I lied to him and treated him like crap and I don't even know who I am anymore. . . I mean, who am I without my brothers?" His eyes watered slightly and I was wondering one thing that I couldn't go without asking.

"What happened tonight?" Soda and Pony looked down at the floor. Soda decided to be the one to speak.

"I kissed Cherry outside Pony's school about a half hour ago" I sighed. Of course it was about a girl!

"A girl? _That's _what this is about?"

"NO!" They both yelled. Why couldn't I follow this?

"It's because he lied to me Dare! He told me he was at the movies! We used to be best friends until all this Sandy drama!" Ponyboy went into another violent crying fit and I felt helpless. I guess I never really acknowledged, or even _thought_ about, how much all the drama could affect Ponyboy.

"I lied because I was scared" Soda mumbled.

"What?" Pony choked out still gasping for air between tears.

"I lied because I knew you liked her Pony! I didn't want to upset you. I see now, that that was _probably _not my best idea…"

"I don't care if you date her Sodapop!" Ponyboy wiped his eyes, "I just want you to be you and not 'Sandy-pop' or 'Cherry-Soda' if you want to be with a girl, just promise me you'll still be Sodapop. Please?" Soda nodded as a tear traveled down his cheek.

"I promise I'll never make the mistake of breaking our bond ever again Pony. I swear" Soda scooched over and embraced Ponyboy. They must have held their hug for a good minute of two just knowing they had eachother. In a way I envied their relationship, but I knew inside, they both loved me just as much as they loved each other.

"Alright guys, it's late. Why don't you two head up to bed?"

"Okay Dare." Soda helped Pony up and they walked to their room together.

An hour later I went upstairs to bed and stopped by their room. I opened the door and looked inside to reveal Sodapop cradling Ponyboy as they both slept in the dark. I smiled, closing the door and heading off to bed.

**Sounds all resolved right? WRONG! There's still more. Just wait! Keep reading and reviewing!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Ponyboy's POV:

I woke up to an already empty bed… again. I quickly jumped out of bed looking at the clock - 5:30. I had another hour before I had to get up for school, and Soda usually sleeps 'til 6:00 because he wants to.

I got up and opened the door. I heard nothing. I ran into the kitchen. No one. _Where is everyone? _I looked all over the house but not even Johnny was home. I knew Two-Bit would come to pick me up at 7:00 and I figured I might as well start getting ready with my morning shower despite everyone being gone.

In the shower, I started thinking: _People come in and out of our house all the time. It's not like this is unusual. I mean,it kind of is because Darry and Sodapop have never left me alone before except if they were going to work, and they alway left me with a 'babysitter' like Two-Bit or someone. But they couldn't be at work already. It's too early._

My breathing became irregular. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't figure out a reasonable explanation for why they would all leave me home alone. Not that I minded it. I didn't _love_ having a babysitter breathing down my neck all the time, but it just confused me that they took a route so out of the ordinary.

I put my clothes on for school and had some eggs for breakfast. There were no other dishes in the sink. _They didn't eat? NO Ponyboy! No! Stop thinking about them! Everything's fine. _I washed my only dish and sat in the living room reading a book on the couch.

A while later, I heard Two-Bit's horn honk. I ran outside. I wanted to hug him. He was a sign that I wasn't the only one in the gang left out of this disappearing spree.

"Two-Bit?" I hopped into the car.

"What? No hello?" I frowned. _Really Two-Bit?_

"No this is serious Two-Bit, do you know where Darry, Soda or Johnny are?"

"Gee I don't know kid, don't they _live_ with you?" I just shook my head. How could he not understand how serious this was?

"Oh you're no help" I turned away, waiting for him to start the car and drive off.

"Look kid," I turned back to him, "I'm early, I can help you look for a note or something in your house if this is gonna bother you for the rest of the day" I thought about that, that would be one of those things that bothers me all through the school day. I didn't even think to look for a note.

"NO! Wait here, you just gave me an idea" I ran out of the car up to my room I remembered the last note Soda had given me when he disappeared. I checked my pajama shirt and there it was.

Ponyboy,

You were out like a light. Darry and I figured we'd leave you be.

We want you to go to school. Don't worry we're fine.

We'll be home by dinner okay?

~Sodapop Curtis

If anything I just became more curious. But Sodapop didn't want me to worry, so I didn't. I slipped the letter into my pocket and ran back out to Two-Bit. I just had to wait it out.

**Sorry about the hold up. Busy school week. Thanks for all the great reviews! You guys make my day!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

Ponyboy's POV:

Two-Bit insisted on driving me back home from school even though I usually walk home almost everyday. He said it was because he wanted to make sure I got home alright, but I knew he wanted to know where Soda, Darry and Johnny were just as much as I did. I ran inside to find no one, I realized dinner was usually around 6:00 and it was only 3:00. _How would I spend 3 hours waiting?_

"Hey Two-Bit!" I called out to the car. He rolled down his passenger window.

"Yeah?" I ran up to the passenger side of the car to avoid having to yell at each other from across the yard.

"Wanna go see a movie?" I usually didn't ask to go places, but I knew I'd drive myself insane sitting in the house staring at the clock until 6:00.

"Sure kid. Hop in" we drove off to see _West Side Story. _It took about 10 minutes to get there andwe had already seen it 1,000 times but Two-Bit usually talks and jokes through the whole thing. He probably never caught a minute of it and that's why he went back to see it with me so many times.

By the time we got out of the movie it was 5:50. Just enough time to drive home and get there for 6:00. There was no guarantee they'd be home at exactly 6:00 so I just planned to cook dinner when I got there because Sodapop didn't specify what we were having or who was making it.

We pulled into the driveway and Darry's car was there. I knew my face looked happier than usual because Two-Bit smirked to himself as I jumped out of the car. He didn't like when I acted tough, and when I let my guard down, even if he joked about it, I knew he liked it. I burst through the front door to find Darry and Sodapop sitting on the couch. Soda jumped up,

"Hey Pony!" We hugged. I needed an explanation, but right then all I cared about was the fact they were home. Darry watched us hug.

"Jeez Pony, I didn't know we'd scare you that much or I would've brought you with us" Darry stated. My hug must have looked more urgent than I thought. I looked over at Darry.

"Sorry," I let go of Soda, "I just didn't know where you guys were" I bowed my head looking at my feet. I felt my ears getting red.

"It's alright kid," he patted my back, "it ain't your fault you were nervous 'bout us"

"Yeah, I guess that's kinda my fault after runnin' off earlier" Soda looked at the floor just like me, blushing. It was true, ever since Sodapop had went to Seattle I was a little spooked whenever one of them was gone.

"So…" I changed the subject away from Sodapop, "Where were you guys?" Darry and Soda exchanged a glance. I looked around the house. Where was Johnny? "Guys...?" Both of them noticed that I had figured it out, but they knew one of them was gonna have to talk anyway.

Just then, Two-Bit came bursting through the doorway.

"Well I'll be," He shook his head smiling, "They didn't elope to Mexico" we all smirked but they turned back to me ready to answer the question. Soda opened his mouth to speak.

"We-"

"Hey!" Steve came rushin' in with Dally right beside him, "Where the hell were you today Soda? I thought you'd gotten yourself into somethin'! I've been milkin' this guy for information all damn day!" Dally just smirked and took a drag of his cigarette

"I told him you were in Canada just in case you headed up to one of the emergency hidin' places I told you 'bout. But I guess you're fine" He just shrugged, "where's Johnny at man?"

"Well…" Sodapop licked his lips not sure how to tell everyone. Dally was here, and he made everyone nervous. Especially when it came to bad news about Johnny. But, I already knew what Soda was gonna say. I feared for the worst, "Johnny was in some real pain last night and he was screamin' and cryin'" He looked at his feet hitchin' his thumbs in his jean pockets, "Darry and I thought we'd take him to the hospital." He shrugged like it was no big deal. _How did I miss the screaming?_ "They told us they wanted to keep him there for the next few nights for further evaluation"

"What?!" Dally demanded more but I knew doctors. They didn't tell you anything more than what you needed to know, and that's probably all they'd tell someone who's not a family member.

"That's all they would tell us" Sodapop confirmed, "They didn't even explain what the pain was"

"Why couldn't you have called me or the kid and tell us where you were?" Steve asked. _I'm not a kid! Can't you just call me Ponyboy? _I could tell he had been upset about Soda all day. I immediately regretted not showing him the note, because I knew what was coming out of Soda's mouth next.

"Well I gave Pony a note to let him know we were fine and when we'd be home" Steve's eyes burned into mine.

"Didn't think to tell me, huh kid?" He flared his nostrils with each breath. Now he was angry. Dally turned around and promptly slapped Steve across the face. Not real hard or anything… but hard enough to get his attention.

"Get a hold of yourself. The kid didn't even know where they were 'til now stupid" Even though it would have been right to tell him, I just didn't think. Steve had left my mind that day.

"Sorry" I mumbled to Steve. You just didn't get into it with Steve Randle, even if he had controlled himself more since the slap.

"Whatever." He turned away from me, "I'm going out with Marcia tonight at 9:00 Sodapop, you wanna come?"

"Sure, I guess I can take Cherry or something but we're not exactly together-"

"And neither are him and Marcia" Two-Bit interrupted smirking, "'cause I found her first!" Steve smacked Two-Bit's arm playfully and ran out of the house.

"Race ya for her!" They ran down the street. I knew both of them didn't love Marcia like Sodapop loved Sandy. They didn't even like her like Sodapop liked Cherry. But that's what made them happy, and they were willing to let a race settle who's she was.

"I'm headed to the hospital" Dally stated, "I'll see if they'll give me any info on the kid" We all nodded. Even if we knew for sure they'd never let a kid like Dally see Johnny, we weren't gonna try to stop him. He went out on the porch to finish his affair with his cigarette before he left.

"Hey…" Soda grabbed my shoulder, "I was pretty mixed up after Seattle. Cherry and I talked, we're nothing official okay? Just good friends. I think I just wanted a girl to take Sandy's place… and I realize how wrong that was now okay Pony? So tonight, I don't mean nothing by going out with her-"

"I get it Sodapop. I don't mind." I didn't want him sparing his relationships on my account.

"Thanks" He ran up to our room to get ready even though he had a few hours until he had to leave. I turned to Darry.

"Darry?"

"Uh-huh" He answered from the corner of the room he had been standing in. He hadn't really spoken at all… or moved. He sounded genuinely surprised, like he didn't expect me to want to talk to him. I felt bad that his standards for me were set that low.

"Can I go with Dally to see Johnny?" Dally turned around at the sound of his name and watched for Darry's response through the open door.

"I don't know Ponyboy. It's a school night…" Dally decided to speak next before I could.

"I'll bring him back before Sodapop leaves for his little 9:00 'not-date'" _Wise guy_. But I appreciated what Dally had said. It felt good to have Dallas Winston on my side.

"Well… alright but be home by 8:30 the latest. Pony did you finish your homework?" I had already done half of it in school and the other half during the movie. Two-Bit had teased me about it all afternoon.

"Yup"

"Do you want dinner? Soda and I already had ours" It was Dally's turn to answer again.

"I'll take the kid out. I haven't eaten since breakfast thanks to Steve's all-day interrogation" _Is it just generous day, or what? _Oh right, I was a fill in for Johnny like Cherry was a fill in for Sandy. Liked… not loved. But treated like royalty in the absence of someone special.

"Okay... I'll see you guys later"

"Bye Dare" I waved. Now I was ready to jump into a car with a hoodlum and try to convince a doctor to let us Greasers in to see an injured boy even though we weren't his family.

Boy was I gonna have a story when I got home.

**I felt bad about not giving you guys a chapter yesterday even when you continued to review so I figured I'd give you a really long second chapter tonight! See you guys back here tomorrow!**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

Ponyboy's POV:

We begged the nurse to let us see Johnny and told her she had already let us in once when he originally injured his back. She couldn't argue with her past decisions and decided to let us see him. I also think it was because Dally scared her a little, but I can't know for sure.

When Dally opened the door we saw Johnny. He looked pale but not as bad as when he was jumped by the Socs, or the day after the fire. He was lying flat on his stomach with his arms forming triangles so his hands rested under his pillow while he slept. He looked peaceful, but not enough to convince me he was okay.

Dally ran over to Johnny and kneeled right next to his sleeping face trying not to look urgent. He still wanted to look cool after all. I just grabbed the clipboard at the end of his bed to see if it stated what was wrong. I wasn't going to leave until I knew.

Johnny Cade

Height:5' 9''

Weight:130 lbs

Previous Diagnosis:Fractured Vertebrae (major)

New Found Symptoms:

Pain (waist down)

New Diagnosis:_

This one thing I needed was a new diagnosis and they didn't write it down. I just shook my head.

The doctor came strolling in and noticed we were in the room. I put the clipboard down before he could see I was looking. I didn't know if he'd be angry I was reading it without being a family member of Johnny's, but I wasn't itchin' to find out. He didn't seem to care that I was there, but when he looked at Dally he sighed to himself. '_Someone' has a good memory of Dally. _I thought sarcastically.

"Hello boys" He exhaled. He sounded annoyed. His tone said: 'I'm gonna try my hardest to leave ASAP' but Dally and I weren't going to let him leave without an explanation for Johnny's pain.

"Could you tell us what's wrong with him?" Dally asked, still kneeling next to Johnny.

"Well there's nothing _wrong_ per say…" _Now he's just playing with us _

"So why'd he have pain?" I joined the conversation

"Well, we ran some tests, and miraculously, your friend seems to be regaining feeling in his legs" Woah.

"How is that possible?" I asked. He sighed again, like he was dreading my question. He looked down at the papers in his hand.

"Well," he said, "that's the million dollar question isn't it?" I was confused. Wasn't he supposed to know this stuff? "We've all been trying to figure out what happened to your friend but we have no idea. It seems his body had a few nerves undisturbed by the injuries caused in the fire. Now, somehow, all the signals from his waist down are being transmitted through the lasting nerves. His body adapted significantly to the situation."

Being a Greaser, you start to give up on miracles at a young age. Never any breaks means never any good luck. It was hard to believe that that had finally changed. Dally looked at the still-sleeping Johnny and then back up at the doctor,

"So, will he be able to move-"

"We haven't gotten _that_ far in our tests yet" the doctor cut him off before we could raise our hopes, "Johnny here seems to be in too much pain to even attempt to stand up and try physical therapy. But after a while we might be able to try" I couldn't tell if he meant 'try physical therapy' or 'try to walk' but either way I was still amazed, "Look boys, I've got to run some tests on Johnny soon, so I'll leave you three alone for another couple of minutes but I got to get these done before 8:00"

"Okay. Thanks doc" I said as he closed the door. Dally shook Johnny's forearm trying to wake him.

"Johnny? Johnny man, it's Pony and me. The doc said the pain is a good thing. You can feel your legs again" Johnny stirred, opening his eyes slowly and then surveying the situation.

"Hey guys"

"Did the doctor tell you about your condition?" I asked. I didn't want to fill him in on stuff he already knew when he was so tired.

"Yeah. Tuff enough. They got me back on that nasty pain medicine though"

"Yeah," I played with my shoelaces with my other foot, looking down, "I heard it makes you real tired" I remembered the night before, and I shivered. I couldn't tell if Dally noticed, but I knew Johnny didn't.

"Yeah but I'm glad you guys came," he yawned, "It's real nice of ya" He shut his eyes again.

"We'll be back later okay Johnny?" Dally promised, "The doc needs to run some tests"

"'kay" He was already back asleep when we left the room. We went out into the parking lot, and I chose to sit in the back seat of Dally's car. He started to drive the minute I closed the car door.

"You hungry Ponyboy?" He looked at me in the car mirror.

"Eh," It was true. Despite the good news, I was still bothered by the whole situation. _Why couldn't I hear Johnny scream? Why did everyone else wake up except me? Why wasn't I there to help him to the hospital?_

"You sick or somethin' kid? First you got the shakes in the hospital and now you ain't eatin'" _So he had noticed. _But he was wrong, I wasn't sick. I was just so confused. _If he was screaming, why didn't I hear it?_

"No"

"Well Darry'll kill me if he finds out I didn't feed ya like I promised"

"M'kay" He pulled into a near-by drive through and bought some food for us. When we finished, he dropped me home. I got out of the car and started up the front steps,

"Now Ponyboy," I turned around, "I don't want you walking to that hospital by your lonesome. Call me or Two-Bit if you need a ride after school or somethin' you hear me?" I nodded. "Good"

Now it was time to tell everyone the big news.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

Ponyboy's POV:

"But Darry-" Sodapop wined as Darry handed him a jacket in the kitchen.

"I know I know Sodapop, it doesn't exactly 'make you look tuff'' but I need you to wear it okay?"

"you wouldn't wear it…" Soda mumbled passing by me to get his shoes. Only I could hear it, but he was right. Darry liked his muscles, he probably wouldn't have covered them up if he was going out with girls.

"Hey Soda," I greeted as he slipped on his jacket reluctantly.

"Oh, hey Pony. How's Johnny?" He struggled to sneak his heel into his shoe. All of our shoes were small, but with our money, we knew better than to complain about footwear.

"They said he has feeling back in his legs and might be able to walk again" The house went silent in shock. Darry was the first to speak up, having heard our conversation,

"What? Pony, that's great!" he shouted from the kitchen

"I know. But the doctor's not sure yet, so we have to wait until he's got his pain under control"

"Don't worry about it Pony" Sodapop patted my shoulder, "he'll be fine" Darry came into the living room drying his hands. _He must've done the dishes_

"Hey," he stuck his finger out at Sodapop, "I want you home by midnight and not a minute late do you understand me?"

"Sure" Soda waved his comment off, "Hey Ponyboy, I know it's a school night but me and Darry talked. I'm probably gonna be home by 10:00 anyway and since you had a rough day, I was wondering if you wanna come with?

"Sure. If Darry says it's okay" I looked at him. Even though Sodapop said they agreed, I wouldn't dream of leaving without Darry's verbal consent.

"Yeah little buddy, you can go"

"Come on!" Sodapop grinned, "Even if you say no I'm still gonna make ya! Let's go!"

When we got to the Drive-in I saw Two-Bit and Steve fighting. I knew what it was about - Marcia. They were laughing and having a good time but I knew Cherry and _maybe _Marcia would be uncomfortable with it.

"Fine Steve," Two-Bit surrendered, "you can sit next to her, but I call the other side"

"Fine" They were both still smiling as they sat to the left and right of Marcia. She was giggling at their brawl. Classic Marcia. I didn't see Steve having a chance with her, Marcia was a perfect girl version of Two-Bit.

Cherry sat alone, a seat down from Steve, so both sides of her were free. Sodapop grabbed the seat next to Steve and I sat behind Cherry. Even if it wasn't a 'date', I didn't want to make things awkward.

"Why the hell'd you drag the kid along" Steve turned in his seat to look at me causing everyone else except Sodapop to follow his lead.

"Cool it Steve, lay off" Sodapop really hated it when Steve made digs at me. It wasn't my fault Soda invited me and insisted I come.

"Hey Ponyboy," Cherry looked genuinely happy to see me, "Why don't you come up here and sit with us?"

"Are you sure?" I wanted her to confirm she _wanted _me up there so Steve could shut up.

"Of course" I climbed into the front row to sit next to her. I felt awkward being there, but I she seemed to want me there so I stayed, "Soda?" She started again

"Yeah?" Sodapop turned away from chatting with Steve to look at Cherry

"I need to tell you something…"

"Okay" Sodapop held out his hand, "Hold that thought, Steve's tellin' me 'bout the drag race he had last week" Soda turned away back to Steve as he kept blabbering on about nothing.

"Soda-"

"Wait" She started bouncing her leg like she needed a smoke, or to pee. Her head kept scanning the area and I started to wonder if she actually needed a bathroom and was looking for one.

"Cherry you okay?" I asked quiet enough that for only her to hear

"Yeah I just need to talk to Sodapop about something important" She kept looking around and I was wondering what could be so important she had to watch her back every 2 seconds.

"WHAT?!" I heard someone scream from behind us. Cherry cringed, leaning forward slightly and I knew that this was what she was trying to warn Soda about. Evie was here. Steve jumped up and looked star-struck at his ex-girlfriend. Wait, was she his ex? "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING STEVE?" Marcia turned in her chair, we all did. Staring, horrified, at the scene.

"Evie, I told you. We're just friends. Two-Bit's pretty much dating her anyway" Two-Bit smirked proudly. So I guess he had won. Kinda.

"I don't believe you" Soda stood up next to Steve

"Evie, it's true, we're all just friends hanging out" He put his hand out gesturing to all of us. We nodded to her, confirming his defense.

"Greasers and Socs don't just 'hang out'" Evie spat getting angrier.

"Crap," I whispered under my breath, "Cherry come with me" I grabbed her wrist, Evie and was staring at Sodapop and Steve and I wanted to make a break for it.

"Are you serious Ponyboy?" Cherry hissed, "I can't just run away from all this"

"You don't like fights right?"

"Right"

"Well you're about to get into one yourself if you don't beat it. We're talking about a jealous Greaser girl here, she'll handle it differently than you would" She took one last look at Evie and kneeled in front of the chairs so we could crawl out of there.

"HEY!" Evie shouted from above us. _Crap._ we were caught, "Where do you think you're going Ginger-Ale?" Evie was another girl that would've worked well with Two-Bit, she was clever. Mixing Cherry's hair color and Sodapop's name to nickname Cherry, just proved it.

"Ah!" Cherry rolled out of the way as Evie threw a bottle of Coke at Cherry's face I moved with Cherry. I couldn't see where Sodapop was, so I was going to have to protect Cherry.

"Evie stop! She wasn't even with me!" Steve yelled grabbing Evie's wrists as she squirmed to break free. Now I saw the resemblance between Steve and Evie. Their tempers.

Everyone at the Drive-in had tuned into the scene instead of caring to watch the film. Evie broke free of Steve's grasp and kicked him in the gut sending him down. The crowd gasped in horror. I hoisted Cherry to her feet and ushered her to the side of the yard. Two-Bit and Marcia were still in front of their original seats, standing up. They looked stunned. Sodapop was sitting on the ground a few feet away from them rubbing his cheek that had begun to turn red. I told Cherry to run over to him with me so I could see what happened.

"Soda, what happened?"

"She slapped me when you to tried to split. She said it was for Sandy." He laughed. I knew he didn't mind Evie's hit because she wasn't a very good fighter. The only reason I was nervous, was because she was better than Cherry and Marcia. He must've caught onto my thoughts, "Ponyboy you and Two-Bit go take Cherry and Marcia to their car. Steve and I'll handle Evie" I nodded.

When we got to her car, I said goodnight to both of them and stated that it was probably in their best interest to go home, they agreed. I looked over at Two-Bit,

"You wanna go back to help?"

"I think they can handle one little girl kiddo" Two-Bit smirked, "Here, I'll drive you home, hop in" I got into his car and he pulled into my driveway in no time. He liked speeding and even though it made me uncomfortable, I always liked arriving home early.

"Thanks Two-Bit" I got out of the car, "Send Sodapop over as soon as you can okay?"

"Yeah I will kid. Goodnight"

"'Night" I jogged inside

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep it up! 3**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

Ponyboy's POV:

I stayed up late in bed reading, while waiting for Sodapop to come home. Darry would come in to check and see if I was sleeping but I just shut the light off and acted my way through it every time I heard footsteps coming my way.

At about 11:00 I heard someone coming up the stairs. I shut off the light, sliding onto my side trying to regulate my breathing when the bedroom door opened. But it didn't close that time. Instead, someone came in and sat on the bed next to me. I knew it was Sodapop immediately because, despite his large amounts of energy, he tried to sit as carefully as he could so he wouldn't wake me, Darry was too rough to be able to accomplish that.

"Ow! Damn it!" He hissed under his breath, still trying not to wake me. I sat up and turned on the lamp, making him jump, "Jesus Pony!... scared me"

"Sorry," I glanced at the arm he was tending to that was gushing blood in three evenly spaced lines, "Sodapop, what happened?"

"Evie had decided to get her nails done before she came to see us," he laughed, "pointy." I chuckled. There was no way Sodapop couldn't take a problem and turn it into something enjoyable.

"Your leg?" I asked glancing at his jeans that were stained red on his left calf.

"She was wearing heels" We both laughed and looked at each other before saying the next word at the same time,

"Pointy!" We rolled on the bed laughing at our coordination. Even though we knew we were louder than we needed to be at 11:00pm we still weren't gonna stop. We laughed for a good 2-3 minutes until Sodapop shakely shushed us back into control, still laughing slightly himself.

"So did Steve make it out alive?" I asked whispering, finally in control.

"Yeah, he's gonna need a few stitches in his shoulder where she got him with a broken Coke bottle, but he'll be okay" I remembered the look on Cherry's face when Evie tried to get her with, most likely the same, bottle. Soda smiled at me, holding back laughter. It was something about feisty girls that made Sodapop laugh, and I couldn't help but laugh or smile when Sodapop was too, so all the events that night were inevitable.

We heard footsteps coming from Darry's room and I wasn't surprised. I was actually more shocked that he hadn't come earlier. I quickly shut off the lamp and pretended to sleep again while Sodapop just continued changing out of his 'war clothes'. Darry wouldn't care as much if the noise was coming from Sodapop only.

"Hey little buddy, did you just get home?" I heard Darry whisper from the doorway.

"Yeah, I figured I'd change-"

"What the hell happened to you?" Darry interrupted, returning to normal speaking level. _So he finally noticed the pants… and the arm… and the bruise already forming on his face from where she had smacked him earlier._ I knew that if I wanted to keep my sleep convincing, I had to pretend to wake up at the sound of his voice. I shifted, turning to watch the scene.

"Nothing Dare, Evie just got mad at Steve and I for sittin' with the Soc girls"

"Oh. Is she still as crazy as ever?" Darry cracked a rare grin

"You know it" Sodapop said, another smile already forming on his face. We all started laughing, _even Darry_. Evie _had _always been a little crazy, and it was nice to finally sit back and laugh about something funny as a family. I couldn't remember the last time I had done that.

"Alright guys, get some sleep. Especially you Ponyboy, I know you've been up reading this whole night waitin' on your brother" Like I mentioned earlier, Darry doesn't miss a beat.

"Alright" I mumbled, defeated. Soda and I sat in bed staring at the ceiling together when he finally looked at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"I know there's something wrong I can see it on your face"

"Nothing. And Sodapop, It's dark in here, You can't see a thing."

"Don't doubt my talents" he playfully scolded, "Is it about Johnny?" _Damn it! How could he do that?_

"What?"

"You know… whatever's bothering you"

"...No"

"So something is bothering you?!" I sighed, he was bound to win anyway, might as well get it over with.

"Well, it's just you said Johnny was screaming in pain right?" Sodapop hesitated before he answered. I wasn't sure if he knew where I was going with the question or he just didn't want to talk about Johnny in pain.

"Yeah… yeah, he was hurtin' real bad"

"How come I didn't hear it?" Silence. If I hadn't known better I would've thought he had fallen asleep, but with his energy, it took Sodapop _forever _to go to bed. That's why he liked to sleep late, to make up for all the hours missed trying to fall asleep.

"Well Ponyboy, to tell you the truth… I just don't know" I knew it was true coming from Sodapop, after our talk about the whole 'Sandy situation', I knew he'd never lie to me again.

"Why didn't you guys take me with you?"

"Ponyboy, that night was long for all of us. We figured we'd let you sleep. I haven't heard you have a nightmare in a while we thought that after the stressful night, sleep was the best thing for you. Your body was probably so exhausted from the day, it kept you from hearing Johnny" I hadn't thought about it that way, but Sodapop always knew the right thing to tell me.

"Thanks Soda"

"Hmmmmm" Then I fell into another nightmare-less sleep.

**Ahhh! Getting closer to ch 30 everyday! Hope you guys are liking the story. I know there are a lot of conflicts in this FanFiction, but the request I received was very specific on how long they wanted it to be and I intend to get there, even if that means old conflicts have to be resolved and new ones have to form mid-story. Thanks for Reading and Reviewing (33 reviews! WOW!) Stay Gold!**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

Sodapop's POV:

After rushing my way through the morning, I finally got to the DX. I sat at the counter until I saw a smoking car pull up. And I don't mean smoking like 'tuff'(even though it was) I mean smoking like 'fire' smoking. I ran outside to see Cherry getting out of the car shaking her head. Socs never came to our side of town and I was surprised she even showed up.

"What happened here?" I asked shocked.

"It broke down I guess… I wouldn't even dream on trying to bring it to the other side of town. I wouldn't make it in the first place"

I opened the hood of the smoking car to see what a mess it was. _This is going to be a long day_.

"Steve you'd better come look at this girl's car" I shouted. He walked over to see the jumbled mess that was supposed to be an engine.

"It's a miracle that thing even got you _here_" Steve said while wiping his hands on a cloth and shaking his head. His eyes never left the mess.

"Well I don't know where else to go. It's all I've got" Cherry pleaded. I felt bad for her. She'd have enough money to get a new car, but it must have been degrading for her to come to us. _What would her parents say? What would Darry have said if it was the other way around?_ I sighed,

"We'll try our best…"

"Soda-" Steve cut in but I signaled for him to stop. I knew he was thinking the same things I was about the girl, it was just whether or not he cared about her feelings.

"Now I ain't making any promises Cherry, except that we'll work our behinds off trying, alright?"

"Sure Sodapop," she smiled nervously, "Thanks"

"Sure" I grinned and she walked off. This happened almost everyday. Not this extreme, most of the girls just came to flirt and needed a quick fix in their tire or something. Everytime I let them flirt their way into me fixing their stuff, Steve would get mad and tell me they were using me, but I didn't care. I just wanted them happy.

"Now look what you got us into" Steve teased, although deep down I knew he was serious. Even _I _didn't want to have to fix that, "You ain't even helpin' her"

"Whadda ya mean?" I asked

"Well, it's gonna cost a fortune to pay for all the new stuff we have to order to fix this." He patted the side of the sad little car, "She might as well scrap it and sell the metal. She might make enough to lessen the workload for a new one." I shook my head. He didn't see the problem, it wasn't money.

"She's got the dough Steve, it's her parents that will flip"

"She's a Soc Sodapop, her parents won't care"

"Her parents aren't like that. They'd die if they even saw her with a greaser, they'd flip if they knew about this" Cherry had claimed her car had broken down but it was clear to both Steve and I that she had gotten into a little more trouble than that. Almost all the guts of the car were useless. It had been vandalized. But, despite whatever happened, her parents would be mad, and even _they'd _notice if she got a new one .

"So then what do you want to do?" I shook my head at him,

"I don't know" Then I saw it. On the side of the drivers side door, "Steve?"

"Yeah?" He looked at me funny, not catching onto what I was thinking. I rolled up my sleeves to reveal 3 evenly spaced lines from Evie's nails, identical to the one's on Cherry's car.

**Thanks for the great advice and awesome reviews guys! You're all so great!** **Thanks again!**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

Ponyboy's POV:

I sat on the couch bouncing my red ball after school, when Dally came bursting in the door. He looked me up and down and seemed to realize how bored I was without Sodapop home yet.

"Have you seen Johnny since I brought you last night?"

"No"

"He's doing good," Dally said, lighting a weed in my living room, "He's able to sit up, can't stand yet tho." I continued to bounce my ball and it got real quiet, "Hey you wanna do something kid?"

"I can't get into any trouble Dal" I didn't look up from my ball that continued to bounce on the old carpet, up and down, up and down.

"Shoot Kid, you know better than to think I'd get you into any trouble" I sighed. He was right. He was reckless, but he was smart about it. He'd never bring Johnny or me into any of his issues.

"I know… sorry"

"Jeez kid don't be such a downer. What do you wanna do?" I yawned, that was a good question.

"I don't know. We could go hang at the DX if you want"

"Sure. I'll drive you. Two-Bit's down there and I think that catch of a Soc is there too"

"Cherry?!"

"Yeah, something happened to her car. I thought it was one of Shephard's guys but I guess not. Soda says it was Evie. I don't know" He blew out enough smoke to choke someone, but I wasn't going to be the one to tell him he couldn't smoke in the house; I liked my head attached to my body.

"Evie was at the movie last night…"

"Yeah she's crazy that one" He smirked. I vaguely wondered if he was thinking about _his_ ex, Sylvia. She probably would've done the same thing, except she was even greasier than Evie, and probably wouldn't of let herself get caught. That's why her and Dal got along so well. They were spitting images of each other.

"Hey, are Evie and Steve still dating?"

"It's complicated. She's mad because they were 'taking a break' from each other and she didn't want him seeing other girls. I don't even know what that means" _It was complicated alright. _

"Yeah..." As much as I disagreed with Evie's behavior, I guess she had a right to be mad. Her 'boyfriend'-ish was with another girl, a Soc girl, and if they agreed not to see anyone else then Steve deserved his beating.

What I didn't understand was why she took so much of it out on Cherry. I remembered Steve's voice from last night '_Evie stop! She wasn't even with me!' _So after he said that, why did she go and destroy her car too? It was just like when I was trying to find out how I slept through Johnny's screaming, it didn't add up.

"Wanna head over there then?" He asked as he got rid of his weed.

"Sure" I put my ball in my pocket and we drove to the DX. When we got there Sodapop was on his way out the door.

"Soda?" He turned to look at me and signaled for me to follow him. I caught up to him, "Sodapop where are you going?"

"To Evie's, I need to know if she did that to Cherry's car"

"Why?"

"Because Cherry's either gonna have to ask her parents to loan her some money for the new car parts or she's gonna have to get a new car altogether, which both cause trouble for her with her parents. If Evie will give her some money for the damages, we might be able to fix it without having her parents find out about this mess"

"Oh." I just kept walking. I didn't want Cherry having family problems. So with Dally on our tails and Steve and Two-Bit back at the DX with Cherry, we were on our way to Evie's.

**DUN DUN DUN! CHAPTER 30! Thanks for the reviews! Thanks for reading!**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

Ponyboy's POV:

When we got to the doorstep of Evie's place I realized how bad off us greasers had it. Her house made our's look good. Sodapop rang the doorbell and I stayed close behind him with Dally to my other side(left), slightly in front of me.

The door creaked open and the smell of tobacco consumed me. I coughed a few times after inhaling the smoke, and Sodapop just lightly patted my back while still staring at the door. Evie's red high heel stepped outside as her mom screamed at her from the living room.

"WHO IS IT!" Evie's head popped out to look at us,

"JUST SOME KIDS MA!"

"Oh… DO I KNOW 'EM?!"

"NO!" Evie slammed the door. Her mom sounded… intense. She also sounded big, and I assumed that's why she didn't get up off the couch to come see us. Evie just stood there and blew some smoke right in Sodapop's face. He didn't seem phased, but it bothered me a little.

Evie always looked tough. Her chocolate-brown hair was fluffed up at the bangs and always had too much hairspray in it. The rest of her hair was fluffed too, except her bangs were the most distracting. Nowadays, I think she was a few decades ahead of the rest of us, because she had the 1980's Aqua-Net hairstyle going for her(hers was a little less extreme). But her hair was wavy and frizzy anyway without her puffing it all the time.

The rest of her was just as crazy looking as her hair. She wore a red t-shirt with black leather pants and a black leather jacket. She had a red ascot around her neck that had little pointless white designs all over it. Her bright red lipstick shined in the sunlight and stuck to her cigarette, while her eyes glowed bright green staring at Sodapop.

"What do you want?" She sounded like she had a slight Jersey accent. You could barely tell, but her family used to live there, so I wasn't surprise. The only thing that really annoyed me about Evie, was how tough she acted. It's fine to look the part but in truth, Evie was sensitive, she even cried when Steve went to jail that one time. I didn't like that she tried to be someone she wasn't, "Well?" she demanded.

"Look Evie… Cherry came by the DX today-" Evie turned around to march right back inside but when her hand touched the doorknob Sodapop caught her shoulder, "Wait, hear me out"

"Don't touch me" she jerked out of his grasp. I thought I saw her eyes tearing but I couldn't tell. Right then, I knew that if she _did_ do that to Cherry's car, it was ironically due to her love and sensitivity, "I don't have to listen to you"

"Well did you do it?" Sodapop raised his voice slightly and she froze. Wiping one of her eyes, careful not to smudge her heavy black eyeliner.

"I did" she cried out, "But I did it…" she stuttered over her tears,"I did it for a reason"

"What could possibly be the reason for that?!" Dally sputtered

"Sandy!" Evie looked at him with her big, green, buckshot, eyes staring him down. They were red slightly red from when she had been crying. She had collected herself by then. Another puff of smoke came my way as she stomped her cigarette a few inches away from my foot. She was about my height and could look me in the eye, but she just continued to stare at Dally instead.

'What?!" We all said in unison. Sandy?

"Sandy and I have been keeping in touch, when I told her about Steve and you" she pointed to Sodapop, "going out with the Soc girls, she broke down. I felt bad so I promised her I'd make those girls pay. I didn't know what else to do" _See? Sensitive! I knew it! _In a way I pitied her. She was in a rough position.

"Did Sandy ask for you to destroy an innocent girl's car too?" Dally asked exasperated. At the mention of Sandy, we all wanted the whole story.

"No, I just needed her to know I cared about how upset she was and getting you guys and those girls just seemed right. I targeted Grape because I thought she was _with_ you" She looked at Sodapop.

"You mean Cherry" I corrected. She turned to me, angry as ever.

"What?" She spat.

"Her name's Cherry… not Grape" I mumbled. Sodapop and Dally both held back giant grins but Sodapop was less successful.

"I'm sorry," I thought she was going to apologize for getting her name wrong, "you seem to have me confused with someone who cares!" There she went acting tough again.

"Whatever" I brushed it off, turning away, I didn't like Steve and I didn't like Evie either. What a perfect couple. I just wanted to leave.

"Well will you at least pay part of the cost for repairs?" Sodapop asked gently. I knew he knew she was sensitive too.

"I can't! I'm a greaser, and unlike her, my daddy doesn't have that kinda money!"

"Maybe if you didn't spend it on your weapon-nails you'd be able to pay the repair bill" Dally said as Sodapop pulled his sleeves down for the sake of her not being _completely _embarrassed.

"Whatever" she narrowed her eyes at Dally, "I'll try to come up with some money, but I did this for Sandy and I didn't plan on fixing it"

"Well you're gonna have to! Cherry did nothing to you!" I scolded firmly. I wanted her to be so mentally scarred that she'd work day and night trying to pay the whole bill off. She flipped me off and slammed the door behind her. I heard her mom screaming about how loud the door slamming was but I didn't care. Evie deserved what she got.

"Don't worry about her Ponyboy" Sodapop patted my back, "She's just really messed up right now. She's got a lot to think about"

"I reckon" I said exhausted, as we made our way home.

**Thanks for all the great reviews ;)! Here's a second chapter for the day! Thanks for the support along the way!**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

Ponyboy's POV:

Weeks later, I finally finished freshman year and it was officially summer. Evie hadn't given much money back for Cherry's car but she was trying, so none of us gave her any trouble. Steve started hanging out with her more instead of Marcia, it was the right thing to do afterall.

Me? I didn't do much those first few days of summer. I just went with the flow. If Sodapop asked me to hang out, I'd hang out. If Two-Bit wanted to go see a movie, I'd go see a movie. If the gang wanted to play football, I'd play football.

The one thing I didn't do though, was see Johnny. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to, but I couldn't. Dally would always come to tell me how he was doing and he'd say, 'He walked 3 steps today, but then he had to sit down' or 'He walked 5 steps with the crutches today, then he had to sit down' as much as I wanted to support Johnny, I didn't want to see him struggling, and Darry didn't want me seeing that either. He said it was too much for me to handle. Afterall, I had seen him walk before the church fire, and I didn't know if I could take seeing him struggle with a task that used to be so simple to him.

Dally stopped coming to tell me the news after the first couple days of summer. It had been a week and I had no idea what condition Johnny was in. I started to get antsy. Always bouncing my leg or pacing around the house. In the summer, there's no school work to distract you from reality, so I couldn't keep myself from thinking about him.

"Hey Ponyboy," I heard Two-Bit come in the front door, "what's shakin' in the ol' Curtis household?"

"Nothin' much," I shrugged, and it was true. With Darry and Sodapop at work all day, our house was dull as ever. I usually just sat in there reading most of the day, "Any info on Johnny?" I asked pacing the living room as Two-Bit grabbed a beer and made himself at home on our couch. He just shrugged, grabbed the remote, and flipped channels until he got to Mickey Mouse.

"I don't know kid, I haven't seen 'im for a few days. He was doin' real good last time I saw him" That made me feel a bit better, but I kept pacing, "Jeez kid you're gonna make a rut in the floor if you don't stop pacin' like a caged tiger" I smirked slightly, and sat down next to him.

"Sorry." I looked at his jacket. It had about 20 pockets to store all his stolen stuff. Then I wondered if he had a cigarette to calm me down, "Hey Two-Bit, you got a weed?"

"Uh yeah I think so" He scrambled to find his pack. He pulled one out and I ripped it out of his hand, quickly lighting it as soon as I could. It might have come off rude, but I needed to be calmed down. I couldn't help it, out of all the guys, I was the most worrisome, "Jeez kid, calm down. I'd take you to see him but I gotta babysit my sister tonight. Maybe Dal can later" I nodded as my leg began to slow it's bouncing. The weed was doing it's job.

"I'm okay" I said taking another drag of the cigarette. I normally didn't smoke in the house, Darry would throw a fit, but I needed this.

"Alright kid, now just relax. I'm sure Johnny's fine anyway. He's a tough kid" I nodded again. He was right about what he had said, but I still couldn't be sure. Just when I had finally calmed down, Sodapop and Steve came bouncing in the door.

"Hey Ponyboy!" Sodapop approached me, ready to pounce when he noticed the cigarette, "You know better than to bring a cancer stick in the living room Ponyboy" He said taking it out of my hand and stepping on it in outside in the yard.

"Sorry" I said as he came back in.

"It's okay Pony, I just don't want you gettin' in any trouble." He made eye contact with Steve and they went into the kitchen whispering to each other. Two-Bit watched every minute of the scene, which meant a lot because Mickey Mouse was on, and he was usually dead to the world during that show.

"Pony I'll be back, stay here okay?" Weird. He NEVER left Mickey Mouse.

"Fine" I said sceptically, narrowing my eyes at him as he walked away. They mumbled together in the kitchen until Darry came home 15 minutes later. He took off his work belt and looked at me sitting by my lonesome.

"Hey Pony, where is everyone?"

"The kitchen, mumbling to themselves" His brows furrowed in confusion as he went into the kitchen to join them. I would've followed, but I knew they didn't want me knowing, or Sodapop would've invited me in a long time ago. I decided I might as well not waste my breath trying to discover secrets I'd never find.

"Hey Kid" Dally came in the door, "Where-"

"Kitchen" I stated annoyed.

"Tell 'em to come out" He demanded, reflecting my annoyance. He refused to come out of the doorway, and my skepticism just kept growing.

"GUYS! DALLY'S HERE!" I shouted to the kitchen. All four of them came filing out into the living room staring at the door. They were all trying to hide grins but of course, Sodapop was the only one that really wasn't doing good at all. I didn't get it, what was all this about?

Then I saw him. Dally stepped into the doorway signalling someone else to come in. It was Johnny.

First, Johnny just stood in the doorway, but then he grasped onto his walker with no support from anyone else, and started walking towards the couch. He sat down right next to me grinning.

"Johnny?!" I asked baffled.

"Hey Pony. How do you like my stride?" He joked. I smiled and hugged him. _So that's what all the fuss in the kitchen was about!_ I still thought it was kinda cruel the gang went through all that to surprise me, but I was nothing but happy at that moment. The whole gang took turns hugging Johnny, even Steve.

"How do you feel?" Two-Bit asked. We were all still amazed he was walking whether they knew before hand or not.

"Good, the brace is a little weird though" He lifted his shirt to reveal a full back brace that went from his chest to right above his hips. It was hard plastic and looked pretty uncomfortable.

"What does it feel like?" Leave it to Steve to ask all the tough questions.

"Just boxy… and kinda hot. It don't hurt too bad though."

"Are you sleepin' here tonight Johnny?" Darry asked.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm not sure if my folks-"

"Ah screw your folks Johnny!" Dally interrupted, "Let Darry, Soda, and Pony be your folks for now until you're better-"

"This is as good as I'm gonna get Dal!" Johnny raised his voice. We were all shocked, "Don't expect me to get back to normal because we've already used up all our miracles. Now I know sometimes they're mean but I need to see my parents eventually" We all knew he was right. Not about him walking, some of us still had hope for that, but he _did_ have to see his parents, regardless of his injuries.

"I can take you to see them now and that way you can stay over here tonight" Darry suggested. We all agreed with that. As much as he needed to _see_ his parents, none of us were prepared to have him _stay _with them.

"Sure." We all reluctantly hopped into Darry's car, ready to fight whatever battle was about to come our way.

**Thanks for waiting guys! This one was a little long so I started it last night and finished it today. To the Guest reviewer who asked if my instagram is Greaser_hope it is NOT. Sorry to disappoint but I don't have a FanFic instagram. Anyway, thanks for reading (all of you who've kept with it from ch. 1 - Congrats! You guys are AWESOME!) Thanks again, and keep up the great reviews! 3**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

Dally's POV:

I wasn't sure what we were in for with this kid. Leave it to Johnny to want to go see his hateful parents by choice. When we pulled up to the crappy little house I heard the usual. Hollerin'. _Seriously, couldn't one of his parents lose their voice for one day?_

I helped Johnny out of the car with Sodapop and Steve, making sure he was steady. Darry, Ponyboy, and Two-Bit were already at the door waiting to press the doorbell. Of course none of us wanted to. We were basically setting the kid up for a scream fest.

Johnny made it up the few porch steps with the help of his walker. _He_ wanted to be the one to ring the doorbell, so we let him. The screaming stopped for a second and everyone tensed up. Even I did a little, but of course I didn't show it. I positioned myself in front of Johnny slightly, just so his shoulder was behind my forearm. Then Mrs. Monster-Cade opened the door.

"OH HONEY," she called to her husband sarcastically, "THE HOODLUMS ARE HERE!" My teeth clenched and I saw Ponyboy cringe slightly. I knew he didn't like this, hell, none of us did. Johnny's dad went to meet her at the door and took a swig of his whiskey.

"Mom?-" Johnny started

"OH SO YOU MADE HIM A CRIPPLE?" She snickered, looking me right in the eye.

"Well it's nothing the ol' man wouldn't of done sooner or later" I wise cracked, pointing to Mr. Cade. Everyone in the gang flinched at my words, they knew I was right.

"Why you little-" Mr. Cade threw his whiskey at me, the bottle shattered everywhere. It didn't cut me, but it did spill on my jacket. I took my finger and put some of the dripping liquid to my lips.

"Thanks" I continued to lick the whiskey off of hand.

"So why'd you bring the little crap over here?" Mrs. Cade asked as if she was above the world.

"He wanted to see you," Two-Bit spoke up, "Heaven knows why"

"Well," she looked at Johnny and struck a pose putting her hand on her hip and her other hand in the air, "now you've seen me" she winked at him and began to shut the door.

"HEY!" Darry held the door open with one hand as the Cades struggled to shut it, "He's your kid, don't you care about him at all?" Mrs. Cade stopped pushing on the door and looked Darry right in the eyes.

"That kid is nothing but trouble" she fired the words of like bullets at Darry and it took all my strength not to lash out on the woman, "He didn't want me in the hospital, he wanted you sh*ts instead." Everyone stood still except me. I was shaking with anger, "He's your problem now." Then she shut the door and this time, Darry let her.

**I know this is short but there's not much to say about the ol' bat, Mrs. Cade. Hahaha, anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you guys like the story!**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34:

Sodapop's POV:

So we all trudged into Darry's car once again. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Our parents would have never said that about is, especially not when we were injured and begging for their love. Johnny looked like he was on the verge of tears and struggling to hold them back. Little did he know, no one would have cared if he cried, there was no need to hide it.

"Hey Johnny man, don't worry 'bout her okay? She don't know nothin'" Dally said, patting Johnny on the shoulder lightly.

"Sure Dal" Steve, Dally and I helped get Johnny's walker into the car after him. He looked awfully sad and I knew we were all wondering if it was a really good idea to bring him there, but he would've made us anyway, and he would've seen them eventually.

Ponyboy stood next to me in complete silence the whole night, and when it was time to get into the car he just sat down next to Johnny with the most defeated, sad, look on his face I've ever seen. Johnny looked sad too, but he was better at hiding it than Ponyboy. Pony always showed more emotion than he wanted to.

We dropped Two-Bit at home first, and for once in his life he didn't have a smart remark. He didn't have a joke to lighten the mood. He didn't have a goofy grin to please us all. He just got out and thanked Darry before closing the door.

We dropped Steve off next who had the same mechanical "thanks" as he got out of the car. Dally asked us to drop him off at the bar and Darry hesitated before lettin' him. We all knew even if we didn't drop him off there, he'd still get rip-roaring drunk.

Then we were left. Darry, Ponyboy, Johnny, and me. All heading back to our place. When we pulled up, Johnny just looked out the window and stayed there. The rest of us took our seat belts off, but he didn't even move. We all stayed in the car, watching him.

"Ya know somethin'?" He started, "Tonight, I kinda wished I wouldn't come back here." His eyes never left the window, "Not that I don't like y'all or nothin' but… I don't know I just wanted to get to my house and have my parents be normal. Like your parents were. Then I could stay the night there and not get hollered at or hit. Maybe I'd even be _liked_" Johnny never spoke that much. We all stayed where we were, with our hearts being tortured into breaking.

"We all kinda hoped that too Johnnycake," Darry said, reaching back and putting a hand on his knee, "But you got us now-"

"It ain't the same and you know it" Johnny stated flatly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt y'all it's just, it ain't the same. Ya know, gang vs family, it just ain't the same" He was right. I was friends with Steve to the end but whenever he made a smart remark to Ponyboy I'd feel like punchin' his head in.

"We know Johnny, it's okay," I soothed, "let's get you outta this car so you can sleep" Darry and I jumped out of the car to help get the walker out followed by ushering Johnny off the driveway and into the yard. He didn't really need us once he was out of the car, but Darry wanted to be safe for the first couple feet, "Hey Dare, I'll catch up with you in one sec" I said as he lead Johnny into the house and closed the door.

I ran back to the car and looked at Ponyboy. His seatbelt was unbuckled, but he was zoning out as if he was asleep with his eyes open. No emotion. The only ways I could tell he was awake was because of his breathing, and his expression.

When he was asleep, he looked peaceful, content. But his face looked almost shocked and he was wide-eyed, like whatever he was thinking about surprised him. Everyone's seen it on a friend at some point in their lives, the same aloof stare, raised-eyebrows look, but something about that look on Ponyboy was unsettling. I wanted to snap him out of it ASAP!

"Ponyboy are you okay? Pony, we have to go inside now." I shook his knee.

"I'm okay." His mouth moved but his face stayed the same. Then he snapped out of it to unbuckle his seat belt, which he had already done when Johnny was still in the car. He realized it was already unbuckled, and jumped out next to me. He looked okay then, but the look on his face a few seconds before had concerned me to no end.

"Ponyboy, you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." He looked at me frustrated, "Worry about Johnny, not me" I was shocked. _Why was he so moody?_

"I can multitask" I threw back at him grinning, as we walked toward the house.

"Well you don't need to" He mumbled. Then I knew he wasn't mad at me, he just didn't want to be questioned or worried about. He was weird that way.

When we walked into the house Johnny was already on the couch asleep with Darry covering his body in a quilt. He didn't look peaceful like Ponyboy did when he slept. He looked vulnerable and scared, it made me wonder what he dreamed about, and I shivered eternally.

I approached the couch and gently lifted up the thin quilt covering him to relieve his back brace full on. He was right, it was boxy, and I still to this day have no idea how he slept in it. I set the quilt back down and turned to Darry.

"Alright guys," he said quietly not to wake Johnny, "time for bed" I nodded and headed upstairs followed by Ponyboy.

We layed in bed, awake, surrounded by silent darkness, for the longest time. Of course, I always stayed up late, I had too much energy to sleep. _I'll sleep when I'm dead, I don't need to now_. But regardless, it was one of the longest times I had stayed up. It was unusually long for Ponyboy, he could usually hit the pillow and fall asleep. I turned on my side to look at him.

"Pony?" no response. I decided to take another approach, "Are you asleep?"

"No." he stated, matter-of-factly

"Why not?"

"I could ask you the same question" He sassed.

"Yeah you could," I nodded to myself through the darkness, "but you'd already know the answer" He surrendered, knowing I was right.

"I just didn't like it Sodapop"

"What?" I strained for more details.

"Hearing her" I took that in. Johnny and Ponyboy were as tight as Steve and me, maybe tighter, and it must have hurt him something awful when he heard Johnny's mom say those things about him.

"Pony," I grabbed his chin and turned his face to look at me. I could see his eyes glistening with the moonlight that snuck through the window shade, "she doesn't mean nothin', she was just angry, that's all" He tugged his face out of my grasp, lying on his side, with his back to me.

"She must be angry all the time then" I couldn't counter that. It was true. Mrs. Cade was never happy, she always had a problem, and most of the time she'd blame her problems on Johnny, which would just make things worse.

"I know it's rough to see that Pony. Like when Steve's dad is clobberin' him all the time, but Johnny's with us now, they ain't gonna hurt him."

"I no they ain't anymore." He stated, "but have they already?" _Yes_, was all I could think. _Yes they have. _But you just don't say that to Ponyboy. Especially not when he was already in a state like that.

"I don't know Ponyboy, but he'll be okay"

"Sure," then we both sat in silence, until we fell asleep.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35:

Sodapop's POV:

There was a knock at the door and I sat up in bed. None of the guys ever felt the need to knock on our door. Ever. I looked to my right and saw Ponyboy sound asleep next to me, so I slowly moved off the side of the bed, careful not to wake him. Once I was out of our room, I ran to the door and found Evie there. She was wearing her jean jacket with ripped jean shorts and a purple shirt, with her hair pulled up and greased into a purple ascot to look like Rosie the Riveter.

"Hey Sodapop… did I wake you" I looked down at my pajama pants. I wasn't wearing a shirt so I figured there was no way to lie out of this one.

"Yeah, but it's fine. I was gonna get up anyway" I ran my fingers through my hair. Even if Evie wasn't _my_ girl, I still didn't want to look bad in front of her… or any girl.

"Oh okay. Well, I just wanted to give you this" She handed me a white envelope that had the name 'Cherry' written on it.

"Is this-"

"Yeah, that's the money. As much as I could gather. I know the Soc has some too so don't act like I had to get _all_ the money by myself-"

"No, Evie this is perfect. Thanks"

"No problem, I'm sorry, about destroying her car and all. It's just, Sandy and I are real close and I didn't like hearing her upset."

"It's fine Evie," I said holding up the envelope, "you made up for it"

"Okay." She blushed, "Well, bye"

I shut the door as she walked down our porch steps. I couldn't help but think about Sandy and how upset she must have been to spark a reaction _that_ strong out of Evie. But I couldn't pity her, I couldn't love her, I couldn't care about her because last time I did that, everything went wrong.

Sandy needed to grow up and realize she was married to Mark. She shouldn't have hung onto me, because I was done hanging. I had already fallen, and I was just getting back up.

**Getting close to the end! I can't wait! Sorry this is short. I've been doing a lot of conditioning for soccer. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! **


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36:

Ponyboy's POV:

Months later, everything was looking up. Johnny started to walk without his walker and Cherry got the money to fix her car, but there was something bigger than all that. Soda had changed. Something inside him had finally told him to give up Sandy.

He still knew about her,

He still thought about her,

and deep down, he still loved her.

But he decided to let that all go and stop torturing himself with her. When he thought about her, he thought of her as a married woman, and he loved her like a close friend. With that friendship, Sandy stopped getting upset over Sodapop and could finally engage in her marriage with Mark.

The same idea clicked for Johnny. He would always love his mother and father, but in a way, he kinda let them go. He moved on and lived with us most of the time. Whenever he _did _visit his parents though, we always had Darry or Dally go with him.

Now there's one big happy family with Darry, Sodapop, Johnny and I. And the bond with that family, and the whole gang, is one that can never be broken as long as we all continue to Stay Gold.

The End

**Did you like it? Tell me what you're thinking in the reviews! Special thanks to the amazing people who have actually been reading this since I posted ch 1, and of course special thanks to all the Reviewers, Favoriters, and Follower, you guys are awesome! Thanks for helping create another successful story!**

**Last thanks goes to **Emolichic1 **who gave me the characters and relationships they wanted to read about which basically started this story for me! I love all the readers, thanks to everyone, and I hope you liked it!**


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